Iron Shinobi
by Kairomaru
Summary: Uzumaki Naruto has a rather unique heritage; the blood of a clan that cares only for battle runs in his veins and their bloodline is meant for combat. Naruto rises through the ranks to become known as the Iron Shinobi. Bloodline!Naruto NarutoxHarem.
1. Chapter 1

Welcome one and all to my second story of badass bloodline Naruto! As many of you know this bloodline idea placed first in my poll so it gets a first chapter now. I hope you all enjoy this story as much as you enjoy Dokushu, The Poison Master. I also hope to get close to the same amount of reviews for it! ^_^ Anyway, without further delay I present to you, my loyal fans, chapter one of Iron Shinobi! (All non-loyal fans can read and review as well, but they have to say it's awesome.)

**Chapter One - The Weapon Awakens**

In a village called Konoha, in the heart of Hi no Kuni, there live several clans of powerful shinobi. Among these clans certain techniques are passed down from one generation to the next. In some cases the techniques are taught to the next generation and the secrets behind the techniques are never spoken of outside of the clan. While in other cases these techniques are inherited through the blood as a genetic trait that awakens in certain members of the clan. These are called Kekkei Genkai, or Bloodline Limits; abilities and traits passed down through the generations from parent to child that gives the shinobi wielding them incredible advantages in combat. As would be expected, most clans never let their techniques or bloodline spread outside of the clan from which they were created or born. But, that is not always the case, in the history of the Elemental Countries there was one clan of warriors that cared not for family or clan names, they couldn't care less where their bloodline spread or who obtained it, all this clan cared about was one thing; battle. Combat was their way of life and the only thing that brought them excitement. It was from this lust for battle that the clan gave up its' name and each individual left to seek battle for themselves. Throughout the ages these warriors have become everything from samurai to shinobi to berserkers, forever seeking endless combat.

One of these battle lusting warriors made his way to Uzu no Kuni roughly forty years ago, during the beginnings of the Third Great Shinobi War. He challenged the Uzumaki ninja clan and their legendary swordsmanship to battle and was met with the current clan head, a woman by the name of Uzumaki Kushiko. The two battled for hours, neither of them giving in, until at last both were exhausted and could battle no more. The man and woman collapsed on their battlefield and were taken into the Uzumaki compound to be healed. What happened afterward eventually lead to the two warriors falling in love and having a child of their own, a daughter they named Kushina. At an early age Kushina showed prodigious skill with her father's bloodline limit, which he told the Uzumaki clan was named Tetsuheikihada (Literally; Iron Weapons Body). Shortly after Kushina's tenth birthday the Third Great Shinobi War had finally spilled into Uzu no Kuni and left the Uzumaki clan with no choice but to fight the invading shinobi forces. The clan fought greatly but in the end fell to the continuous onslaught of Iwa, Kumo, and Kiri shinobi. When Kushiko and the male warrior realized they would all be wiped out they each made preparations to send Kushina somewhere far safer than Uzu no Kuni. Kushiko gathered the Uzumaki clan scrolls which detailed their Kenjutsu style, family history, and contained the family's entire treasury. While Kushina's father wrote down his families beliefs on life, battle, and death in hopes that the warrior spirit he'd helped raise in her would never die out.

With only a few days left before Uzu no Kuni fell, Kushiko and her husband sent Kushina away to Konoha by a merchant ship bound for Hi no Kuni's Southern shores. Kushiko and the male warrior returned to the Uzumaki compound and slaughtered several hundred of the invading shinobi each before finally being over run and meeting their end as true warriors. Kushina would spend the next month making her way to Konoha. Upon her arrival she presented the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen the scroll her mother had given her to explain the situation. After the Hokage had read the scroll and practically interrogated the young girl for close to an hour she was allowed to become a citizen of Konoha and was given a small apartment free of charge. It would be almost eleven years later that the Third Great Shinobi War ended. In that time Kushina had become a kunoichi of near legendary status. It was also during this time that she'd met a man by the name of Namikaze Minato. Minato had initially been attracted to Kushina's beauty and her tomboyish attitude and later fell in love with her personality and skill as a ninja. The two had eventually formed a loving relationship and been married in secret by the Sandaime.

When it was discovered that Kushina had become pregnant with Minato's child the couple couldn't have been happier and even Minato's sensei, Jiraiya the Toad Sannin, had come by to congratulate the happy couple on their soon to be bundle of joy. Sadly, it was not meant to be, shortly after Kushina had gone into labor on the tenth of October the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the strongest of the Bijuu had suddenly appeared a few miles outside of Konoha. The beast was enraged and began decimating everything within its' sight. With no time to evacuate the village or fortify a defense Minato, given the title of Yondaime Hokage several months ago, had no choice but to use a forbidden sealing method in conjunction with his own Fuuinjutsu techniques to seal the Kyuubi away into his newborn son, Naruto.

Kushina, exhausted from giving birth and suffering from the effects of the Kyuubi's god-like killing intent that had civilians in the streets dropping like flies, managed to hold her son for several minutes while telling Sarutobi her final instructions regarding Naruto's upbringing. Sarutobi agreed to give Naruto the scroll written by his grandfather regarding the Tetsuheikihada when it inevitably activated sometime in the boys' life. Sarutobi reassured Kushina that he would keep Naruto's heritage a secret so that Iwa would not demand the child's' death and send assassins to kill the boy. With Sarutobi's promise to tell Naruto his full heritage when the boy reached Chuunin rank, Kushina kissed baby Naruto's forehead one last time before her eyes closed forever and she passed on from the world of the living. Shortly afterwards the reinstated Sandaime Hokage presented baby Naruto as Konohagakure no Sato's savior for imprisoning the Kyuubi. The villagers however, rose up in anger and sadness demanding the child be killed to destroy the Kyuubi for good. Sarutobi, disappointed in the village for the first time in his life, created a law stating that if anyone spoke of the Kyuubi's true fate to anyone who didn't already know about it the person who spoke of it would be put to death for treason. With a tired sigh the old Hokage took a sleeping baby Naruto to his office to find someone to care for the young boy.

The person the Sandaime found was one of the few retired kunoichi that his own teammate, Utatane Koharu, had hired as part of a program to raise orphaned children of shinobi that had died on a mission or in a war. Her name was Yachiru and due to a battle during the later part of the war she'd been injured severely and had to retire from active duty. Yachiru would go on to raise Naruto for the duration of his childhood without incident, until the boy was eight and something awoke inside of him.

-Present Day ~ Naruto-Eight Years Old-

Uzumaki Naruto wasn't having the greatest of days, first he slept in late and was late for his class at the Academy, then Mizuki-sensei had been asking him questions about stuff they hadn't even gone over yet in class, and now he was walking out of school early because he was sick off the crap he was getting from a bunch of his classmates.

"Uzumaki-san, where do you think you're going?" Suzume Namida asked as she pushed up her glasses slightly.

"Well, Principal-san, I'm heading home because I'm ticked off at my stupid class and I'm ticked off at Mizuki-sensei asking me questions about crap we haven't even gone over yet." Naruto answered the woman who was also the Principal and Kunoichi Classes teacher.

"I see, I'm sure we could discuss this more in my office." Namida replied while motioning for him to head back towards the Academy.

"Or I could just leave." Naruto said as he started walking off with a wave. Only to be grabbed by the back of his black T-Shirt and dragged back to the academy and towards the principal's office.

Once he was sitting in front of Namida-sensei's desk Naruto sighed before trying to make himself comfortable. Namida quickly walked around her desk and sat behind it before she asked her first question.

"So, Uzumaki-san, what is it that made you want to leave school so early today?" Namida asked as she folded her arms across her chest while looking at the boy in front of her.

"My classmates are being stupid and Mizuki-sensei keeps asking me questions about stuff we haven't even gone over in class yet. That guy has hated me since the first day I came here when I was six." Naruto said while glaring at the top of the desk.

"Well now, that's not quite fair is it? Mizuki shouldn't expect you to know material he hasn't covered in class yet. I'll have to have a few words with him after school." Namida replied with a frown marring her features. Nobody messed up her school while she was in charge. She and Mizuki were going to be having a very _long_ talk, with a chance of him losing his job as a teacher.

"Do whatever you want Namida-sensei, I doubt he'll change anytime soon." Naruto grumbled while looking out the window.

"I intend to do just that, Uzumaki-san. I'm afraid I can't do much when it comes to your classmates though. You'll have to learn to ignore them." Namida told him as she stood up from her chair. "Alright, classes are almost over for the day so you're free to go home. Remember what we've talked about today." she told him.

"Sure, Namida-sensei." Naruto mumbled out before standing up and giving her a slight bow of respect before leaving the room.

Several minutes later and Naruto was walking down the street to the apartment he lived in with Yachiru. As he was passing a construction site he saw a small boy, no more than four years old playing with a ball directly beside the site.

"Hey kid, don't you know it's dangerous to play around construction sites. You should take your ball and play somewhere safer." Naruto said as he pointed down the street towards a small neighborhood park. The young boy simply nodded before kicking his ball down the road towards the park. "Clueless little guy." Naruto mumbled before walking across the street to a vending machine to get a drink with some of the change Yachiru gave him as an allowance. After Naruto had gotten a can of tea and taken a few sips he looked back across the street to see the same kid from before chasing after his ball. When the kid finally caught it he was sitting right beside the construction site again. "What the heck is that kid doing?" Naruto muttered as he took another sip of his tea.

"Watch out it's going to fall!" Naruto heard from inside the construction site before he saw a scaffolding start heading for the ground. The only problem was it was falling towards the small boy ho had just stood up with his ball.

"Oh crap!" Naruto yelled before dropping his can of tea and running towards the small boy. "Get out of the way stupid!" He yelled towards the young boy who only stared upwards in terror. "Damn it!" Naruto yelled before reaching the boy and shoving him several feet back. Only to look up and realize he was about to be crushed. With a large crash of metal hitting concrete and dirt Naruto was buried under the scaffoldings' debris.

"What happened?" one villager yelled as everyone on the street turned towards the sound.

"Something from the construction site fell." another villager said as the dust cloud was dispersing.

"Is anyone hurt?" a woman asked aloud while everyone looked each other over for any type of injury.

"Oh my kami. That boy, the fox kid, he saved that little kids life." an elderly store owner said while pointing towards the shocked four year old who was crying his eyes out.

"What? Are you sure?" one villager asked the shaking old man.

"Why would the fox do that?" a woman asked as the four year olds mother was scooping up her son and had tears streaming down her face.

"Did anyone see who saved my son?" the mother asked as she tried to calm down her frightened child.

"It was the fox boy; he pushed your son out of the way without thinking about what would happen to himself. Oh kami-sama, he saved that boy at the cost of his own life." the elderly store owner said while a lone tear ran down his face.

"Well don't just stand there, we've got to try and save him. He saved my sons' life." the mother said before several village men and construction workers from the site began moving the debris trying to locate the boy that may not have been the fox they all thought he was.

'So what, am I dead?' Naruto asked himself mentally as he stared into darkness. 'This sucks; I got killed by construction equipment. That's a crappy way to die, no awesome ninja battle, no fighting until I drop, no taking a huge number of enemies with me. No I went and got killed buy construction equipment! That's so stupid. I hope the little kid got out of the way alright. No point in both of us getting knocked off by construction garbage.' Naruto mentally ranted while trying to see if he could move, only to find that he was being held down by something heavy. 'What? Did I end up in hell? That's just freaking great! What did I ever do that I'd go to hell for?' Naruto questioned in his mind while still trying to wriggle his way out. 'Wait, did this thing just get lighter?' he asked himself as he started hearing voices above him. Suddenly light filled his vision and he shut his eyes trying to block it out.

"I found him!" a construction worker yelled as he moved another piece of debris before reaching down and pulling Naruto out. Several villagers and construction workers were surrounding the boy to see if he was still alive. Naruto's eyes slowly opened as his sight adjusted to the sunlight. "He's alive." the construction worker that pulled Naruto out said as everyone looked toward Naruto.

"I'm still alive? How? I was crushed flat wasn't I?" Naruto questioned as everyone else was at a loss for words as the boy looked perfectly fine. Not so much as a bruise or scratch on him.

"I believe I can explain, Naruto." said an old voice as everyone turned to look down the street at the newly arrived Sandaime Hokage.

"Jiji? What are you doing here?" Naruto asked while the Sandaime walked up to the boy and helped him to his feet.

"I'd received a report of a construction accident and rushed over here when I heard you were involved." Sarutobi answered as Naruto started looking around.

"Speaking of which, where's that kid I was trying to get out of the way? Is he alright?" Naruto questioned as he scanned the crowd for the boy.

"He's just fine, thanks to you." The boys' mother stated as she walked up to Naruto with her son in her arms. "Thank you so much for saving my son." the mother said with a bow towards Naruto.

"Oh, no, it's fine. I just didn't want him to get hurt." Naruto said while waving his hands in front of himself slowly.

"Come along Naruto, we have quite a bit to discuss." Sarutobi said as he started walking towards his office.

"Right behind you, Jiji." Naruto replied before hurrying to catch up to the old Hokage.

Upon arriving at Sarutobi's office both Naruto and the Sandaime sat in their respective chairs, Naruto in front of the desk and Sarutobi behind. Once they were both comfortable Sarutobi began the conversation.

"Naruto, the reason you're still alive and without injury is because you've activated your Kekkei Genkai, the Tetsuheikihada. At the moment you were about to be crushed what was the last thought in your mind?" Sarutobi asked as he looked at the young boy in front of him.

"I don't know something like 'I don't want to die.' or something like that?" Naruto mumbled out as he tried to digest the fact that he had a Kekkei Genkai.

"I believe that single instinctual thought, your will to survive itself is what activated your bloodline. I have a scroll that was written by your grandfather. It explains your bloodline in detail as well as your ancestor's thoughts on the subjects of life, battle, and death. It was agreed that you'd receive this scroll when your bloodline activated." Sarutobi stated as he handed Naruto the scroll that was written many years ago.

"Jiji, will this scroll tell me about my family?" Naruto questioned as he held the metallic gray scroll in both hands.

"Yes, to some extent. You'll learn the names of your grandparents as well as your mother. But I'm afraid your father's name can't be told to you until you're at least Chuunin rank. Your father made far too many enemies for you to be known as his son. I'm sorry about that." Sarutobi told the boy who was starting to tear up.

"That's ok, *sniff*, Jiji. At least I'll finally know I had a family and who they were." Naruto said as he tried to hold back his tears of joy.

"You've had a rough day Naruto, why don't you head home and read up on your new abilities and family history?" Sarutobi suggested as he smiled at the boy. Naruto simply nodded before standing up and heading out of the office.

Thirty minutes later Naruto walked into the apartment he shared with Yachiru. He had just gotten his sandals off when he was picked up and hugged by his guardian, Yachiru.

"Oh Naruto! I heard what happened! Are you hurt? Do you need to go to the hospital? Are you ok?" Yachiru questioned him as she kept him in the hug. Yachiru was a thirty six year old woman with brown hair down to her shoulders and typically wore long beige pants and a forest green t-shirt.

"I'm fine Yachiru-neesan. The Hokage gave me this scroll from my grandfather and said it'll explain most of what's going on." Naruto told her as she stopped hugging him and lead him to the couch in the living room. The two sat on the couch and Yachiru told him to start reading and she'd help him with any words he didn't know.

-Naruto's Bloodline Scroll-

To my family, both present and future, I write this scroll in hopes that it will assist you in your journey to use, control, and understand our bloodline, the Tetsuheikihada. Our bloodline gives us armor-like bodies that we can harden, sharpen, or produce metal from any part of our body at will. This makes our clan very adept at Taijutsu, Kenjutsu, and combat in general. The density of your _Koutetsu_ (Literally: Armor/Steel Plate) is determined by your chakra capacity. Luckily for us high chakra reserves are normal for our family. Know this, however; with the activation of our bloodline you'll undergo a slight shift in your mentality. You'll enjoy combat more, fighting strong opponents will be something you seek to do, and you'll become more aggressive to those that show hostility towards you. In regards to our ability to produce metal from our bodies; it is limited to how much chakra we have and how much metal we have inside our bodies at the time. Metal cannot be produced from nothing; therefore our bodies naturally have a higher iron content than others. Most people have enough iron in their blood to make a single nail. We, however; have enough iron in our blood to produce up to eight full length sword blades.

Below you'll find several techniques I perfected over the years to make myself stronger. I hope you find them useful in your battles.

_Kyorioomata_ (Literally; Distance Stride) - A high speed technique I developed to get close to my opponents. By sending chakra into the legs and out the bottom of the foot you can launch yourself in any direction you push off from with your step. With enough practice you can appear to vanish to your opponent's eyes.

_Tetsuhaiki_ (Literally; Iron Blade Breath) - A technique I created to take out multiple opponents at once. By gathering small scraps of iron in your mouth and applying chakra to your lungs you can launch the irons scraps at high speed towards a group of opponents by exhaling. This can cause damage ranging from small lacerations to death.

_Kusarinokogiri_ (Literally; Chain Saw) - A technique I made to tear apart even the thickest armor. By protruding small jagged blades in a single file line along your arm or leg and moving them at high speed in a single direction you can get a tearing effect that has immense cutting power.

_Konbouteashi_ (Literally; Club Limb) - A technique that I created to break both things and people. Draw iron out of your body and coat a limb, or limbs, in it and harden your Koutetsu to its' maximum. After that simply swing the limb and hit whatever you want broken. The smashing and breaking power increases as the strength of your Koutetsu rises.

Now that you have an idea of what you can do with our bloodline it's time to learn the ways of our warrior family. In regards to life a Tetsuheikihada warrior must choose a strong mate to ensure the strength of the next generation. A warrior will live by his own code of honor and must protect it from anyone that challenges it. Lastly a warrior must spend his life in combat, for there is no other profession for a warrior of our family.

In regards to battle a Tetsuheikihada warrior will fight any life and death battle to the end, regardless of the outcome. A warrior will only fight at full strength against an opponent that has proven themselves worthy. For help following this rule I'd suggest finding some way to limit your strength, chakra, or remove, in part or in whole, the ability of one of your senses. Lastly a warrior that deems a person worthy of fighting at full strength will thank them for the fight at the end of the battle, even if the opponent is already dead.

In regards to death a Tetsuheikihada warrior should either die in battle or of old age; no other end is fitting for a warrior. A warrior who falls in battle should have no wounds of retreat upon his back. Lastly a warrior that falls in battle must take as many opponents with him as possible, for there is no greater way to die in battle than to take your final opponent with you.

Those are the ways of our warrior family; use them to spread the warrior's spirit throughout your own branch of the family. Just as I did with my wife Uzumaki Kushiko and our daughter Uzumaki Kushina.

-End Naruto's Bloodline Scroll-

After Naruto had finished reading through the scroll, with Yachiru's help, he smiled happily at her while she grinned back at him. Yachiru quickly pulled Naruto into a hug where he buried his face into her arm and cried tears of joy at the discovery of his mother's name. Naruto fell asleep in his bed that night with a smile on his face for the first time in years as Yachiru looked on happily.

The next morning Naruto woke up on time and took a shower before grabbing breakfast with Yachiru and then walking off towards the academy dressed in his usual outfit of baggy black shinobi pants, a white obi, black sandals, and a black t-shirt. Naruto arrived several minutes early to class and sat in his usual seat in the middle row of the classroom.

"Hey Naruto, I thought you quit yesterday? Why did you come back, aren't you tired of being a failure?" Haruno Sakura asked while smirking at her own joke and shooting glances at Sasuke to see if he noticed her.

"Haruno, shut up. I'm in no mood to deal with you or your voice." Naruto told her coldly which got almost everyone's attention. Naruto never talked to anyone in that kind of tone.

"Naruto you jerk!" Sakura screeched before punching Naruto in the face. Everyone expected Naruto to fly out of his seat and hit the ground with a bloody nose. "Ahhhhhhh! What the heck! Ahhhhhh! It hurts!" Sakura cried out much to everyone's shock. When all the kids in the class looked back at Naruto he hadn't moved an inch even though they'd all seen him get punched directly in the face.

"Yeah, that's not gonna do much good anymore Haruno. My bloodline activated yesterday, your weak little punches aren't gonna do crap any more. I believe my Koutetsu as it is right now could block kunai and shuriken and things like clubs will break when they hit me. Unless you'd like your hand broken again I'd refrain from hitting me anymore." Naruto told her with a dismissive sigh as Mizuki and another teacher walked into the room.

"Good morning class, my name is Umino Iruka and I'll be your new secondary sensei." Iruka stated as he and Mizuki stood in front of the class. Both sensei noticed Sakura crying and holding her hand next to Naruto's seat and asked what happened.

"Haruno-san tried to punch me a few moments ago. She found out it isn't smart to punch me since my Kekkei Genkai activated yesterday." Naruto answered as Iruka lead Sakura to Mizuki and told him to take her to the school nurse.

"Now Naruto, what bloodline have you activated and why did you break Sakura's hand?" Iruka questioned as everyone looked towards the blonde.

"First off, I didn't break her hand. She did. Secondly, my bloodline is known as Tetsuheikihada. It grants me an ability called Koutetsu that is always active. She basically punched a block of metal at full strength which broke the bones in her hand." Naruto explained as he sat in his seat with everyone staring at him.

"Well, thank you for sharing that with us Naruto. Now I believe it's time we all start today's lesson." Iruka stated as he went back to the front of the classroom to start the day. By the time lunch rolled around everyone in Naruto's class was anxious to tell everyone they knew about Naruto's new bloodline. Naruto simply sat under the tree he always did at lunch time and took out the bento Yachiru made for him. Suddenly a shadow fell across Naruto's lap and he looked up to meet the eyes of one Yamanaka Ino.

"Um, hey Naruto. I'm sorry about what Sakura did to you." Ino stated as Naruto looked up at her.

"It wasn't your fault Ino-san. Besides I think she came out of that worse than I did." Naruto replied with a small grin. To which Ino let out a slight giggle.

"Naruto, um, would you mind if I ate lunch here with you?" Ino asked with a small blush as she held up her own bento.

"Feel free Ino-san." Naruto replied while motioning to his left. Ino sat beside him, opened her bento and started eating. Within five minutes of Ino joining him a girl that Naruto had seen in the class for third years approached the duo and stood in front of both of them.

"Are you the boy all the second years are talking about?" the girl asked with a raised eyebrow as she looked down at the two eating lunch.

"That depends, what are they saying and what's the name of the person you're looking for?" Naruto asked the girl.

"They're saying that a boy in the second year has a bloodline that turns him into metal or something, they call him Naruto I think." the girl said as she tried to remember what the second years were talking about.

"Well I'm Naruto but I'm afraid my Kekkei Genkai doesn't allow me to turn into metal. I can produce it from what I understand but the quantity is limited. My bloodline is called Tetsuheikihada and the whole turning into metal thing isn't accurate. My bloodline has a constantly active ability called Koutetsu that makes my body as hard as metal and can be hardened even further when I apply more chakra to it, but I can't turn into metal." Naruto explained to the bun-haired girl who was wearing a pink Chinese top and dark green shinobi pants.

"What's your name anyway?" Ino questioned the other girl.

"Oh right, my name is Tenten, I'm in the third year class." The newly introduced Tenten said as she looked at the two under the tree. "So what're your names?" she asked.

"My name's Yamanaka Ino, it's nice to meet you Tenten-san." Ino replied with a smile which Tenten returned.

"Uzumaki Naruto, a pleasure to meet you Tenten-san." Naruto said with a nod which Tenten returned with another smile.

"Would you two mind if I joined you? I sort of ran off to find the person everyone was talking about instead of going to my usual spot for lunch." Tenten admitted while rubbing her arm nervously.

"I don't mind at all. Feel free to take a seat anywhere." Naruto answered as he resumed eating his bento.

"I don't mind either, Tenten-san." Ino replied with a smile which Tenten returned before sitting on Naruto's right side and opening her own lunch. The three enjoyed a nice lunch with some light conversation and agreed to meet again tomorrow for lunch. All in all Naruto thought the day had gone well and was looking forward to getting to know his two new friends better.

-End Chapter-

So what did you think? Like it? Hate it? Let me know with your reviews. Anyway this story is a Naruto x Harem but I'll let you all guess as to who the members are. You'll probably never guess the correct ones. But anyway I hope everyone enjoyed the First chapter of Iron Shinobi and I hope to see you all again in the next chapter. Until next time, later.


	2. Chapter 2

Well since I have nothing to do today except wait for some hiring manager to call me back about a job I figure I might as well be productive and give my fans the next chapter of Iron Shinobi. I hope this chapter is good enough to please you all and make you want to leave me nice reviews. Your reviews make my days of job hunting a little brighter and easier to bear. With that let's get on with the chapter.

**Chapter 2 - Friends, Rivals, and Graduation**

Uzumaki Naruto couldn't help but sigh as he headed for the Academy for his last week before graduation. 'It seems like so much has happened since I unlocked my bloodline. But, in a way it seems like time has just gone by without anyone noticing. It was only last year that Tenten-chan graduated and now here I am getting ready to do the same. It's almost surreal.' Naruto mused thoughtfully while walking into the Academy grounds.

"Hi, Naruto-kun, how was your weekend?" Ino asked him as she seemingly came out of nowhere.

"Not bad, Ino-chan, how about yours?" Naruto replied as the two ninja in training walked towards the front door.

"It was alright, I helped mom around the shop and trained with dad for awhile each day." Ino answered with a smile which Naruto returned with a grin of his own.

"Hey, dobe, fight me." Someone behind the duo demanded in an arrogant tone of voice. The two turned to find the only person that ever called Naruto a dobe, Uchiha Sasuke, standing behind them with his hands at his sides and a perpetual scowl on his face.

"Save it for Taijutsu class, Sasuke. I haven't got the time to smack you around right now." Naruto replied with a disinterested sigh while Ino giggled as the two continued towards the door.

"I wasn't giving you a choice!" Sasuke yelled before launching himself at Naruto; only to have Ino's foot smash into the side of his face and send him a few feet away.

"You heard him Sasuke. Save it for Taijutsu class." Ino said with frown as she and Naruto entered the Academy.

"Nice kick, Ino-chan." Naruto commented which made Ino smile at the compliment as the two walked down the hallway to their class.

"It was nothing, compared to our sparring sessions, Naruto-kun." Ino replied with a grin as they entered their classroom and took their usual seats beside each other. As they were waiting for their sensei to show up Naruto thought back on the first time Ino had asked him to help her get stronger.

-Flashback ~ One Week After Naruto Met Ino-

"Winner, Uchiha Sasuke." Iruka announced as Sasuke walked out of the Taijutsu ring leaving a beaten Ino laying on the ground trying not to cry at both her injuries and at being beaten so easily. The fact that Sasuke said she was nothing but a weakling wasting his time didn't help either. After Iruka helped her to the sidelines, Ino looked to her right as Naruto sat down beside her.

"Not exactly a nice guy, huh?" Naruto commented on Sasuke's behavior.

"Not at all. I can't believe I almost started liking him. I know he lost his family a few months ago, but that's no reason to treat everyone around him like trash." Ino stated with a huff before she groaned at one of her bruises hurting again.

"Very true, what he said to you was unnecessary. I'll beat him down for you later, if you want." Naruto offered with a grin which Ino returned.

"No thanks, I'd rather make it more painful for him to accept by beating him myself." Ino replied before looking Naruto directly in the eyes and asking a question. "Naruto, do you think you could help me get stronger?" she asked while still staring him directly in the eyes.

"Sure, Ino-san, it's my belief that if you want to become strong and are willing to work hard for it, strength will come naturally. Strangely enough, that's also my ancestor's views on strength. Maybe it's genetic?" Naruto explained while jokingly asking at the end causing Ino to giggle before replying.

"Thank you Naruto, I promise to work hard so I won't slow your training down." Ino stated with conviction to which Naruto grinned.

-End Flashback-

After that conversation the two trained together everyday. Whenever Ino wasn't training with her father in clan techniques or helping her mother in the store, she and Naruto could be found at a training ground sparring, exercising, or learning new techniques. It wasn't long before Tenten got involved and the groups' training ground was often littered with weapons after an intense session of sparring All in all, their group training gave them all a good deal of strength, so much so that the three began to stand out in their classes as advanced students. Tenten even graduated with the top kunoichi award for her year, just shy of taking Rookie of the Year away from Hyuuga Neji in the process. Ino had easily risen to the spot of top kunoichi in their class for the last four years running. Naruto was also close to the top of their class but his below average bookwork kept him from being at the very top. Sasuke held that position much to most of the guys' annoyance considering it gave him an excuse to be more arrogant and have a bigger ego.

"Alright class, let's all head out to the Taijutsu area and get some practice spars in before graduation this Friday." Iruka said as all the students stood up and headed out of the classroom towards the training field. Once everyone had arrived Iruka and Mizuki divided up the students and started calling out names when it was a persons turn to spar. Naruto and Ino sat next to each other and watched the matches as they were fought. The two took note of people with potential and watched their matches more closely. Some of the matches the two really focused on were Akimichi Chouji vs. Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba vs. Nara Shikamaru, and Hyuuga Hinata vs. Ami.

"Alright the next two sparring will be Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino." Iruka announced while Sakura walked towards the field and Ino stood up from her spot next to Naruto.

"Good luck, Ino-chan. Don't hurt her too badly." Naruto said with a grin.

"Oh, you know I won't do that." Ino responded innocently while smiling at him before heading down into the ring.

"Are you both ready?" Iruka asked from the side of the ring. When both girls nodded Iruka shouted, "Begin!", and stood back to observe the match.

"You ready to lose Ino-pig?" Sakura questioned while glaring at Ino.

"Nope, how about you Sakura?" Ino questioned as she knew Sakura had started to dislike her ever since she and Naruto had become friends.

"I won't lose, I'm fighting so Sasuke-kun will notice me." Sakura said proudly while Ino simply sighed before she shot towards Sakura and punched her in the stomach. Sakura doubled over grabbing her stomach in pain and coughing violently trying to get air back into her lungs.

"Do you surrender, Sakura?" Ino asked as she retook her fighting stance.

"No, I can't lose in front of Sasuke-kun." Sakura replied between coughs as she tried to straighten back up.

"Ok, but I asked." Ino stated before she sent a roundhouse kick and connected with the side of Sakura's head. The pink haired girl hit the ground and laid there clearly unconscious.

"Winner, Yamanaka Ino." Iruka called before having Mizuki take the girl to the nurse's office to have her injuries looked at.

"Nice match, Ino-chan." Naruto congratulated as Ino sat back down beside him.

"Thanks, Naruto-kun." Ino replied with a small blush at the compliment.

"The final match will be between Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto." Iruka announced as Sasuke strode into the ring with his typical arrogance. Naruto simply stood up and walked down into the ring until he was standing across from Sasuke.

"Are you both ready?" Iruka asked while the two boys simply nodded. "Begin!" Iruka called before jumping back to the edge of the ring.

"Take this, dobe!" Sasuke yelled before delivering a vicious right hook to Naruto jaw; only to pull his hand back in pain as it felt like he'd just punched a steel plate.

"Take what, Uchiha?" Naruto questioned with a raised eyebrow that infuriated Sasuke. Sasuke flew into a flurry of left-handed punches and various kicks all of which Naruto either dodged or blocked causing Sasuke further injuries and making him angrier.

"Stay still and fight me, dobe!" Sasuke roared as his punches and kicks began getting sloppier.

"Why should I? An enemy shinobi won't stand still and let you hit him, so why should I? Besides you've already lost your cool and you're getting sloppy. You'll defeat yourself at this rate." Naruto said while knocking aside another of Sasuke's kicks.

"Shut up!" Sasuke yelled before over extending his punch leaving Naruto with the perfect opportunity to counterattack. Which he did, in the form of an elbow to the back of the head that sent Sasuke sprawling.

"Winner, Uzumaki Naruto." Iruka announced as he went to check on Sasuke.

"Hey, Iruka-sensei, would it be alright if me and Ino-chan sparred before we went back inside? I didn't get much practice out of my spar with Sasuke." Naruto said while Iruka helped a disorientated Sasuke out of the ring.

"Alright, but only so Sasuke has some time to recover from that blow to the head you gave him." Iruka stated while Ino walked down to the ring.

"Ready, Ino-chan?" Naruto asked as he got into his Taijutsu stance.

"Whenever you are, Naruto-kun." Ino replied before she quickly side-stepped to the right before moving into Naruto's left side with a sidekick aimed at his midsection. Naruto blocked the kick with his forearm and sent a front kick of his own at Ino's chin. Ino leaned her head back dodging the kick before sending a straight front kick at Naruto's stomach. Naruto took the kick and grinned at Ino who simply stuck her tongue out before spinning around and aiming a roundhouse at the back of Naruto's head. Naruto leaned forward dodging the kick; only to have Ino's hand grab the back of his head and shove it into the floor of the ring. "Whose your momma?" Ino asked teasingly as she held Naruto's head down on the ring floor. Naruto's right hand clamping down on her wrist was the only warning Ino got before she was jerked off of Naruto's back and slammed onto the ring floor beside him.

"I think you mean, whose your daddy." Naruto joked as he sat on Ino's back while keeping her arm in an arm lock behind her back. Ino's response was to use her flexibility and slam a kick with the heel of her foot into the back of Naruto's head; which caused Naruto to let her arm go as he fell forward off of her.

"Not you, at least not yet." Ino answered as she got up and gave Naruto a flirtatious wink that had Naruto blush slightly at the comment as he stood up. "How about we both go full strength on this last attack Naruto-kun? We'll decide the match with our real power." Ino suggested while Naruto grinned.

"You're on, Ino-chan. But you know I have trouble controlling my full power; so I don't plan to go for any vital areas." Naruto commented as he reached for his neck where he kept thin piece of black cloth. Ino was like wise pushing up her arm warmers revealing a set of weights hidden beneath them. When Ino dropped the weights on her arms to the floor the resulting sound they caused on impact let everyone know they had to be close to twenty pounds each. But Ino wasn't done as she reached down for the two anklets she wore as well. When the first anklet hit the ring floor it made a dull thud that caused several of the other girls in the class to widen their eyes in shock. After Ino had gotten the second one off, with the same dull thud, she looked expectantly at Naruto who was still holding on to the front of his cloth neckband. Naruto, seeing the look, quickly smiled before pulling the neck band forward causing the back to separate and the band to be removed. On the inside of the black cloth, in what appeared to be white ink, were several seals that only Iruka and the newly returned Mizuki could identify.

"That's more like it, Naruto-kun." Ino stated with a smile before a huge surge of chakra exploded out of Naruto's body covering him in a dark blue aura of chakra that kicked up a breeze and scattered leaves an dust away from the teenager. The aura died down until it was only surrounding Naruto and didn't extend further than an inch from his skin before he put the cloth band in his pocket and got back into his Taijutsu stance.

"Ready, Ino-chan?" Naruto called while Ino smirked and got into her own Taijutsu stance. Both of the teens suddenly disappeared from the sight of the students, though Iruka and Mizuki were able to follow the two's movements, and suddenly reappeared at opposite ends of the ring. "Not bad, Ino-chan." Naruto commented with blood coming from his nose and his busted lip.

"Not quite good enough though, is it?" Ino asked as she moved her hands away from her left side revealing that some of the bandages she wore around her torso were torn and she had a nasty looking bruise that was a dark red and slowly turning purple. "I can see your movement but I can't react in time to stop it." she commented as she slowly stood up and turned to face Naruto who turned around to look at her.

"You're still getting better Ino-chan, you'll be able to block and counter that thrust soon enough." Naruto encouraged her while pulling out the black cloth neckband and putting it back on. As soon as the band connected in the back the aura around Naruto vanished and he walked towards Ino to help her put her weights back on.

"Um…yes, ok. Winner, Uzumaki Naruto." Iruka called out to the still shocked crowd of students who simply stared dumbly at the two teens that were walking out of the ring together. As Iruka and Mizuki started getting the students to head back to class a familiar arrogant voice made itself known.

"Dobe, what the hell was that?" Sasuke demanded as he stormed up to the two that were heading for the nurse's office to get Ino's injury looked at.

"Yeah, Naruto, what was that?" Sakura questioned from behind the Uchiha while glaring a little at Ino. Though she wouldn't say anything to her directly after seeing Ino's true strength; which also made her feel bad knowing that Ino had beaten her without much effort at all, while wearing weights.

"What was what, exactly?" Naruto questioned as he let Ino lean on him to alleviate pressure on her injury.

"That chakra, that power, tell me what that thing is!" Sasuke demanded as he pointed at Naruto's neckband.

"The chakra is mine, it's just how much I have. High chakra capacity runs in my family. As to what this is." Naruto touched his neckband. "It's a sealing object that holds back a large portion of my chakra. If I didn't have it I couldn't enjoy any of my fights because I wouldn't be able to hold back. I'd end battles too quickly and I'd never have any fun." Naruto stated with a feral grin at the end of his explanation. Both Sasuke and Sakura took a step back at Naruto's explanation and another step back when they saw his grin. "Now, if you two will excuse us, Ino-chan and I are heading for the nurse's office." Naruto stated dismissively before walking with Ino into the Academy.

-Time Skip ~ Day of Graduation-

Naruto and Ino were both patiently awaiting their turn to test for graduation from the academy. Both cursed the fact that their names were so far down the alphabet and had to wait to pass this exam they could have passed last year.

"Uzumaki Naruto, please come into the next room for your test." Iruka called from the doorway to the examination room.

"Wish me luck, Ino-chan." Naruto grinned as he made his way to the examination room.

"Good luck, Naruto-kun." Ino said with a smile as Naruto walked down the steps towards Iruka.

Once he'd entered the examination room Iruka took his seat, beside Mizuki, behind the desk covered in Konoha headbands.

"Alright Naruto, I need you to perform the Henge no jutsu (Literally; Transformation Technique)." Iruka stated as he watched Naruto with his clipboard ready.

"Sure, sensei." Naruto responded before going through the hand seals and being covered in ninja smoke. When the smoke cleared the two Chuunin were gazing at the Sandaime Hokage with his trademarked pipe hanging from the corner of his mouth.

"Very good Naruto, or should I say Sandaime-sama?" Iruka joked as Naruto dispelled his jutsu.

"Nah, Godaime-sama or Rokudaime-sama, maybe. Sandaime is already taken." Naruto replied with a chuckle.

"Alright, next up is the Kawarimi no jutsu (Literally; Replacement Technique)." Iruka told him after marking down a pass for the Henge.

"No problem, sensei." Naruto replied before replacing himself with the empty chair next to Iruka and then switching back.

"Very good, Naruto. Just one more and you pass the graduation exam." Iruka said with a smile as Naruto grinned.

"Bring it on, sensei." Naruto challenged as he prepared himself.

"I need you to perform the Bunshin no jutsu (Literally; Clone Technique). Once you do you'll pass your exam." Iruka explained as Naruto nodded.

"Here it goes." Naruto said as he finished the hand seals and was covered in a large cloud of ninja smoke. Once the smoke cleared Iruka was facing thirty copies of the black clad blonde. "Damn, I still used to much. I try for three and end up with ten times that much. That must mean I'm using ten times more chakra than I need too. I guess Ino-chan is right, I really do suck at chakra control." Naruto muttered to himself as he looked at all of his clones.

"Impressive, to say the least, Naruto. Congratulations, you graduate. Please come and pick a headband of your own." Iruka told him as Naruto came up to the table and grabbed a headband with a black cloth.

"Ino would never let me hear the end of it if I picked a headband that didn't match my shinobi attire." Naruto said while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. The statement caused Iruka to chuckle before he ushered Naruto back into the classroom. Once Naruto had retaken his seat Iruka called out the next person to be tested.

"Yamanaka Ino, please come to the examination room for your test." Iruka called out as Ino stood up and passed Naruto on his way back to his seat.

"Wish me luck?" Ino asked Naruto with a smile.

"Good luck, Ino-chan." Naruto said with a grin before Ino headed down the rest of the steps and entered the examination room. Several minutes later and Ino emerged from the room with her new headband tied around her waist like a belt. She made her way back towards her seat next to Naruto before sitting down with a grin.

"Not nearly as hard as I thought." Ino mused while Naruto nodded in response. A few minutes later Iruka and Mizuki re-entered the room and preceded to announce the top scores for the graduating class.

"The top score in Taijutsu for the shinobi category this year belongs to Uzumaki Naruto, congratulations." Iruka announced while Naruto nodded at the information. "The top score in Taijutsu for the kunoichi category this year belongs to Yamanaka Ino, congratulations." Iruka continued as Ino smiled at Naruto who grinned back.

"The top score in Ninjutsu for the shinobi category this year belongs to Uchiha Sasuke, congratulations." Mizuki announced to the happy screams of Sasuke's fan girls. "The top score in Ninjutsu for the kunoichi category this year belongs to Yamanaka Ino, congratulations." Mizuki stated as Ino grinned at Naruto who simply stuck his tongue out at her.

"The top score in Genjutsu for the shinobi category goes to Uchiha Sasuke, congratulations." Iruka announced to even more screams of delight from the Uchiha's fan girls. "The top score in Genjutsu for the kunoichi category goes to Yamanaka Ino, congratulations." Iruka stated as Ino simply had a huge smile on her face while Naruto rolled his eyes at Ino's happy smirk in his direction. "Now, this years' Rookie of the Year goes to Uchiha Sasuke, congratulations." Iruka finished amidst screams of joy from Sasuke's fan girls.

"Damn, I thought you had it Ino-chan." Naruto said with a thoughtful expression.

"I probably would have, if I'd had better bookwork grades. He beat me in that constantly." Ino mused as she stood up after Iruka dismissed them and lead Naruto to her house to celebrate with her family and Naruto's guardian, Yachiru. After several hours of celebration with Ino's family and Yachiru; along with the families of Chouji and Shikamaru, because they were family friends, Ino and Naruto told everyone they were heading out to a training ground to have a spar before they were placed on teams the following Monday. After getting the ok from their respective parents and guardian and Inoichi threatening Naruto about how Ino had better still be a virgin when they came back. The two set off for one of the less used training grounds so that they could go all out and not disturb anybody.

"You know your dad can be really scary when he wants to be." Naruto commented as he and Ino were tree hopping to the training ground.

"Yeah, he's a bit protective of me, but he means well so I don't mind." Ino giggled out as she and Naruto landed at the training ground and started warm up exercises to loosen their muscles in preparation for the all out battle that was about to take place. Right as the two were about to drop their restraints and start the fight, they heard the sounds of someone tree hopping in their direction and both moved into the shadow of a small shack at one end of the training grounds to hide their presence. Not even a minute later their Academy sensei, Mizuki, landed in the middle of the training ground panting and out of breath.

"What's Mizuki-sensei doing way out here at this hour?" Naruto whispered to Ino who shrugged before replying.

"I don't know; but, that scroll on his back has the kanji character for 'Forbidden' on it. Something tells me he shouldn't have that, but he may be on a mission right now so the best thing we can do is confront him about it. If he's on a mission we let him be, if not we double team him and subdue him until either Jounin or ANBU arrive." Ino whispered back as Naruto grinned at the plan while Ino smirked. With that both teens leapt out into Mizuki's line of sight and stood their letting him recognize them.

"Nice evening, right Mizuki-sensei?" Naruto asked the Chuunin as Ino stood beside him.

"What're you doing way out here this time of night?" Ino asked while preparing for anything.

"Shit, I don't have time to waste with you two." Mizuki growled before taking one of the large shuriken off his back and hurling it at the two teens. Naruto smirked before knocking the shuriken away with his bare hand.

"Seems, you were right Ino-chan. Mizuki isn't suppose to have that scroll." Naruto stated as Ino nodded before pushing up her arm warmers and unhooking the weights, letting them fall to the ground with a heavy thud. Mizuki quickly threw his other large shuriken at the two teens before starting hand seals. Naruto caught the shuriken with his bare hand this time before throwing it back at Mizuki and interrupting his hand seals as the Chuunin dodged out of the way. By this time Ino had gotten off both of her anklets and was ready to go all out to stop Mizuki. Naruto nodded to Ino, who nodded back, before the two rushed the traitor and engaged him in Taijutsu that started pushing Mizuki back.

Mizuki quickly jumped back while throwing several kunai at the two teens which Naruto shielded Ino from with his Koutetsu hardened body. Mizuki landed on the other side of the clearing before devising a plan to get Ino to attack Naruto and allow himself to escape.

"Hey, Naruto, would you like to know why the villagers hate you so much?" Mizuki questioned with a sick grin on his face. Both Naruto and Ino stopped at the question and looked at Mizuki with bewilderment.

"What are you talking about? The villagers have always disliked me, that's just how it has always been." Naruto stated as he took at step forward while Ino looked on curiously, she had noticed the glares Naruto had gotten from the majority of the civilians and had always wondered why they glared at him in the first place, this may be a chance to find out.

"That's true, but the reason they hate you is because of the law that was made twelve years ago." Mizuki said with malice in his voice.

"What law?" Naruto questioned while Ino looked curious as well.

"The law that states that no one can tell you the Kyuubi no Kitsune was sealed into you the night it attacked our village! You are the fox that destroyed our home, decimated our shinobi, and killed multitudes of civilians! You're nothing but a monster! Even your little girlfriend Ino should be trying to kill you right now!" Mizuki yelled with an almost psychotic glee.

Ino gasped and looked towards Naruto worried at what this revelation might mean to him. Naruto simply stood there shocked for a moment before he started chuckling and quickly ended up full blown laughing at what Mizuki said.

"So I have a big ass fox with near limitless chakra sealed inside me, huh?" Naruto laughed as he stared at Mizuki's shocked face. "Sounds like it'd be a blast to fight! This could be the best news I've heard in a while. Now how do I repay you for letting me know that I have a potential sparring partner with me at all times?" Naruto questioned as he sharpened his fingers into small blades and his arms gained a distinct cutting edge. "I know, how about I beat you within an inch of your life?" Naruto asked with a grin as he took a step forward.

"Not unless you let me help, Naruto-kun." Ino stated as she stepped beside him causing the teen to turn towards her.

"So it doesn't matter to you that I've got a Bijuu sealed inside of me?" Naruto asked with a curious expression.

"Hell no, you're still the battle loving boy that helped me get stronger and you're my closest friend. A fox in your body doesn't mean shit to me!" Ino stated with confidence as she looked at Naruto with warm, caring eyes.

"Where do you think you're going Mizuki-teme?" Naruto questioned as he saw Mizuki preparing to sneak away with the Forbidden Scroll. Before the traitor could say anything Ino and Naruto were upon him trying to take him apart with their combined Taijutsu attacks. Mizuki blocked a kick from Ino only to have to jump back as Naruto's fingers turned blades nearly disemboweled him. This series of blocks and dodges went on for close to a minute before Ino snagged the Forbidden Scroll with her foot and tore it from Mizuki's back. Mizuki, distracted by the loss of the scroll didn't notice Naruto's bladed arm coming down until it cut into his chest through his Chuunin flak vest.

"Ahhhhh! Damn it!" Mizuki cursed as he jumped back and tried to stop the bleeding from his chest; only to go flying back towards Naruto courtesy of Ino's foot slamming into his back. The last thing Mizuki saw before he lost consciousness was Naruto's fist heading towards his face. When Naruto saw Mizuki was out like a light after getting his Koutetsu hardened fist smashed into his face he motioned Ino to bring the Forbidden Scroll over and sat against the shack. Ino soon joined him with the scroll in hand.

"Thanks, Ino, it really means a lot to me that you still want to be friends with me after what we learned tonight." Naruto breathed out as he leaned back against the shack.

"I'll stay by you forever, unless you really piss me off. Then I'll simply beat the heck out of you until I feel better." Ino stated with a satisfied grin as Naruto smiled hesitantly while vowing not to piss Ino off.

"You know, we could read this scroll and find out why it's so forbidden if we want. I wouldn't tell if you didn't." Naruto suggested with a grin which Ino quickly mirrored.

Half an hour later found Naruto and Ino, with Mizuki's unconscious body dragging behind them, at the base of the Hokage Tower where the search teams that were sent out to look for the scroll had gathered along with Sarutobi, when the old Hokage had called off the search stating that the scroll had been recovered and was being returned.

After delivering Mizuki to an all too happy Torture and Interrogation department and returning the scroll to the Hokage; the two newly minted Genin teens were sitting in front of the Hokage's desk discussing what had been revealed to them tonight with Sarutobi.

"So you're saying the fox is sealed inside me, it has no control over my actions or emotions unless I'm using its' chakra?" Naruto questioned Sarutobi.

"That's correct Naruto, the Kyuubi is kept completely separate from you by the seal. As long as you aren't actively drawing on it's chakra it has no ability to influence you." Sarutobi stated as he took a drag on his pipe and blew the tobacco smoke out through his nose.

"So Naruto is Naruto and Kyuubi is Kyuubi? Completely separate with no interaction between them, right?" Ino asked the Hokage; who nodded at her question. "Then it's fine, he's still Naruto; the battle crazy, fight loving guy I've known for years." Ino stated with a nod at her own declaration.

"If only the rest of the villagers had your mindset, young Yamanaka. Naruto may have had a much more normal childhood." Sarutobi said with a tired sigh.

"Well, I've got all the answers I needed, you ready to head home Ino-chan?" Naruto questioned as he stood up.

"Yeah, I'm good. Walk me home?" Ino asked while batting her eyelashes.

"After you, Ino-hime." Naruto joked as he bowed her out the Hokage's office door, while he held it open for her.

Once the two teens were gone Sarutobi couldn't help but crack a smile at their antics. 'Something tells me they'll be dating within the year.' He thought with a little perverted giggle before he stood up and started to make his way to his own home for the night.

-End Chapter-

So what's the verdict? Good? Bad? Let me know with your reviews. Anyway, since a few people seemed to like this I decided to be productive with my free time and get another chapter out for this story. The hiring manager I was waiting to get a call back from never called so that was just great, seriously these hiring people are assholes now days. Oh, well hopefully I'll get some good news soon. Oh, and before you ask; yes, I did purposely leave out the scene that shows what Ino and Naruto read from the scroll. I'll let it play with your imaginations for a little while before I tell you what they read. But, until my next chapter I must bid you adieu, later.


	3. Chapter 3

I'm back again and bringing all my fans chapter three of Iron Shinobi. For the fans of my story Dokushu, The Poison Master, it will be updated after this chapter of Iron Shinobi and then Forest of Flames should have its' first chapter written shortly afterwards. So anyone who is looking forward to a badass, fire wielding, Naruto, you'll soon have your wish. With that said let's start the chapter!

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**Chapter 3 - Teams and Tests**

The morning following the forbidden scroll incident arrived just like any other. With Naruto stumbling towards his bathroom in a half asleep daze. After waking himself up with a shower and some breakfast, which consisted of eggs, bacon, an apple, and some orange juice, Naruto locked the door to his apartment and started making his way to the Academy for the final time. Halfway to his destination he met up with Ino and the two walked the rest of the way together while holding a light conversation about last nights' incident.

"So, Ino-chan, have you figured out how long it'll take you to learn that technique you picked out last night?" Naruto questioned as the two walked along the street towards the Academy.

"It'll take a while until I'm able to use it. It's forbidden for a reason you know. But if I had to make an educated guess based on what I copied from the scroll about the technique? I'd say at least five months, maybe six if it proves more difficult than I think. That's only to use it though, I plan on mastering it and that'll probably take a couple years at the earliest." Ino responded with determination in her eyes as she held up her right fist.

"I guess that means in a few months I can expect you to be able to use it in our spars then, right?" Naruto questioned with his battle happy smile stretched across his face.

"Count on it, Naruto-kun." Ino told him with a similar smile on her face. "So what about that technique you were so interested in? How long will it take you to be able to use it?" she asked curiously as the Academy came in sight.

"Since it's one of the few techniques I've come across that compliments my bloodline, I don't think it will take long before I can use it. Maybe a day or two at most." Naruto answered with a small smirk that had Ino rolling her eyes.

"You know, one day your going to really hurt yourself doing something stupid; like trying to learn and use a high level technique in only a few days." Ino said to which Naruto simply nodded his head.

"Yeah, that sounds like something I'd do." Naruto replied with another grin while Ino simply sighed before shoving him past the Academy gate and into the schoolyard. As the two were heading towards the door, they were stopped by a certain Uchiha and his pink haired fan girl.

"Dobe, fight me." Sasuke demanded with his arms at his sides while Sakura looked on at Sasuke in awe.

"Normally I wouldn't say 'No' to a fight; but in your case, Sasuke, I make the same exception I make for all weaklings." Naruto stated with a bored sigh as he and Ino walked around Sasuke and Sakura.

"What the hell do you mean by that, dobe?" Sasuke questioned as he turned around to watch Naruto walk towards the Academy.

"I mean what I said, Uchiha. I don't fight weaklings; there isn't any fun in fighting someone that doesn't stand a chance to begin with." Naruto stated with a bored tone while Ino simply stood beside him waiting for Sasuke to leave them alone so they could get to class.

"You can't say that to Sasuke-kun!" Sakura screeched from beside the object of her affection. "He's the Rookie of the Year! That proves he's better than you, Naruto!" she finished with another screech.

"Better at what? Bookwork? Ninjutsu? Genjutsu? Maybe, but I know for a fact that I'm better than him in combat. In my family the one who walks away from the fight is the one that's better, Haruno. So shut up and let me and Ino-chan get to class." Naruto said with a growl while glaring at Sasuke and Sakura. With that Ino and Naruto made their way inside the Academy to find out their team placements.

After Ino and Naruto sat down in class, followed by Sasuke and Sakura entering the room a few moments later and doing the same, Iruka strolled into the room with a clipboard in hand and stood in front of the class to announce the new teams.

"Alright students, first let me say how proud I am that all of you have passed your graduation exam. I'm sure you'll go on to lead successful careers as shinobi and kunoichi of Konohagakure no Sato. With that said, please wait and listen for your name to be called along with your teammates and sensei." Iruka stated as he started calling out the name of various students and Jounin. It wasn't until he got to team seven that Naruto started to pay attention. "Team seven will consist of, Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Uzumaki Naruto. Your Jounin-sensei is Hatake Kakashi." Iruka announced over both Sakura's screams of 'Love conquers all.' and Naruto's groan of 'Are you serious?' Sasuke didn't voice his opinion; but if the scowl on his face and the tightening of his hands in front of his face were any indication, he wasn't pleased with the arrangement either.

"I'm sorry for your misfortune." Ino whispered to Naruto who nodded before grunting in annoyance at his predicament.

"Team eight will consist of, Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, and Hyuuga Hinata. Your Jounin-sensei will be Yuuhi Kurenai." Iruka called out much to Hinata's disappointment as she wasn't placed on the same team as her crush.

"Tracking team, right? Makes sense I guess." Naruto mumbled out while Ino nodded at his assessment.

"Team ten will consist of, Akimichi Chouji, Nara Shikamaru, and Yamanaka Ino. Your Jounin-sensei will be Sarutobi Asuma." Iruka announced which made both Ino and Naruto smirk.

"The Ino-Shika-Cho trio is reformed again." Naruto stated with a grin.

"Yep, seems the precedent still holds firm." Ino replied while nodding to Chouji who was looking in her direction. Shikamaru, however, was still sleeping without a care.

"Now, you all should wait for your sensei to arrive. Once they do follow their instructions and go forth on your path as shinobi." Iruka finished as he sat behind his desk and waited for the Jounin to start arriving. Within a few minutes various Jounin had arrived and collected their teams, Kurenai and Asuma arrived and took their teams at roughly the same time. Ino told Naruto she would see him later before leaving while Naruto wished her luck with her team. After every other team had been picked up, team seven was starting to get annoyed with their apparently late sensei. After another hour had passed Iruka had to leave to check the roster for the next class of ninja hopefuls he'd be put in charge of next school year. It was yet another hour of Sakura asking Sasuke for dates, while Sasuke ignored her, before the door to the classroom finally opened revealing a man dressed in the standard Jounin uniform, with grayish hair and his headband tilted over his left eye.

"Team seven?" the Jounin asked.

"Yeah?" Naruto asked while trying to assess the man's combat potential.

"My first impression of you all, I don't like you." the Jounin stated causing Sasuke and Sakura to face-fault while Naruto simply shrugged at the comment. "Meet me on the roof." the Jounin stated before disappearing in a cloud of ninja smoke. Naruto simply stood up and walked out of the room and towards the stairs leading to the roof. Sasuke and Sakura followed a few seconds later. Once all three Genin had arrived and sat down on the roof, the Jounin began speaking. "Alright, now that we're all here, how about we start with some introductions?" he asked with an eye smile.

"What kind of introductions, sensei?" Sakura questioned while Kakashi looked at her.

"How about your name? Things you like. Things you hate. Hobbies. Dreams for the future. That kind of stuff." He answered before Sakura spoke up again.

"Shouldn't you go first, sensei?" Sakura asked to which the Jounin simply nodded.

"Ok then, my name is Hatake Kakashi. I like several things and I hate several things. I have a lot of hobbies. Dreams for the future, haven't really thought that far." Kakashi said with another eye smile. "Your turn pinkie." he stated while pointing at Sakura.

"My name is Haruno Sakura. My likes are…, I hate Naruto and Ino-pig! My hobbies…, dream for the future is…um." Sakura said while constantly staring at Sasuke and blushing.

"Okay, that was…interesting." Kakashi stated with a sweat drop at the girls complete lack of motivation. "You next, sunshine." he said while pointing at Sasuke.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I have no likes and I dislike most things. I have no hobbies. My dream isn't a dream but an ambition. There's a man I have to kill and I will revive my clan." Sasuke said with his permanent scowl in place.

"I see, next is you blonde boy." Kakashi remarked while pointing towards Naruto.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like Ino-chan, Tenten-chan, training, and battle. I hate weaklings that have egos without the strength to back them up. Annoying fan girls. People that run away and give up without putting up a fight, and people that disappoint me in battle. My hobbies are training and sparring with Ino-chan and Tenten-chan, fighting, and getting stronger. My dream is to fight as many strong opponents as I can and maybe start a family." Naruto explained while Kakashi nodded in a some what approving manner.

"Alright then, we will meet up at training ground three tomorrow at six am for our first mission." Kakashi announced prompting Sakura to speak up again.

"What kind of mission, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura questioned while looking at the Jounin.

"Survival training." Kakashi stated with another eye smile.

"But sensei, we did that kind of stuff in the Academy." Sakura said with confusion written all over her face.

"Yes, but this type of survival training is different. You'll be going up against me. This test actually has a sixty six percent chance of failure. Meaning that only nine Genin out of this years' graduates continue on to be shinobi, the others are sent back to the Academy for another year." Kakashi explained causing Sakura's eyes to widen while Sasuke's hands clenched into fists.

"So what was the point of the Academy graduation exam?" Naruto asked as he leaned back on the steps he was sitting on.

"That's only to determine the ones that have the potential to become Genin. Whether you continue on to become official shinobi this year depends on if you pass tomorrows test or not." Kakashi answered before offering the three a piece of advice. "By the way, I'd skip breakfast tomorrow morning, you would probably throw up." Kakashi said before he disappeared in another cloud of ninja smoke.

"Tomorrow sounds like a fun day. I can't wait." Naruto said with a grin as he stood up and started towards the stairwell. "I wonder if Ino-chan and Tenten-chan can hang out for a while?" Naruto mused as he descended the staircase and headed for the exit.

After ten minutes of walking down the street leading away from the Academy, Naruto ran into Ino and both started to discuss their thoughts on the tests that they would undertake tomorrow. The two headed for Tenten's house to see if their weapon loving friend was available to hang out. Once they had arrived Naruto pulled the door to the weapon store open causing the bell above to ring.

"Welcome to _Suchiirubusou_ (Literally; Steel Armament), how may I help you today?" Tenten's mother asked from behind the counter.

"Hello, Hanamiko-san, is Tenten around?" Ino asked the woman who smiled upon seeing her daughter's friends.

"You're in luck. She has a day off today, I'm sure she'd love to spend it with her friends. I'll call her for you." Hanamiko answered with a smile as she went through a door behind the counter that led to the forge where Tenten often helped her father work. A few minutes later and Hanamiko returned with both Tenten and her father, Bukiji. Tenten quickly walked around the counter and put an arm around both Ino and Naruto and pulled them into a hug.

"It's nice to see you guys. With all the training and missions Gai-sensei has us doing I don't get to see you guys as much as I want to anymore." Tenten stated after letting go of both of her friends.

"I missed you too, Tenten-chan." Naruto replied with a grin.

"Me too, Tenten. I need to be able to talk to you more. Naruto doesn't understand anything about girl talk." Ino said dramatically causing Naruto to roll his eyes and Tenten to giggle.

"Hey, Naruto boy, would you be willing to sell me some more iron? The stuff you produce makes the best weapons." Bukiji asked with a grin as he wiped his hands clean from working in the forge.

"I could use a little extra money." Naruto admitted to the weapon smith who smiled happily.

"Alright then, whenever you're ready." Bukiji said while he pulled out a small hammer and sat behind the counter. Naruto quickly placed his hand, palm up, on top of the counter before concentrating. Within a few seconds a piece of pure iron began to form in the blonde haired boy's palm. After several seconds a large two foot long, three inch wide, plate of solid iron was sitting on the counter top. Bukiji was quick to pick the iron bar up and start tapping it with his small hammer to check the irons' density and quality.

"Beautiful work as always, Naruto boy. This is high-grade iron and if I'm not mistaken you made sure it was chakra conductive, correct?" Bukiji spoke as he quickly applied chakra to his hand and touched the bar of iron.

"Of course, Bukiji-san, it's more valuable to both of us that way." Naruto stated as the iron bar began to glow a light blue color when Bukiji applied his chakra to it.

"Alright, let me just weigh this bar here." Bukiji said as he brought the bar over to a scale at the end of the counter. "Let's see, hmmm, about eleven pounds even. For chakra conductive iron of this quality I'll give you two hundred thousand yen for the bar." Bukiji offered.

"That's good, I accept." Naruto stated while Hanamiko went into the back for a few minutes before returning with Naruto's payment.

"Here you are, Naruto-san." Hanamiko said as she handed him the money.

"Thank you very much, Hanamiko-san." Naruto replied before pulling out his wallet and putting the bills inside before returning it to the same pocket.

"Bukiji-san, I was wondering how exactly do you make katana from the iron bars Naruto sells to you?" Ino asked curiously as she had never delved into weapon forging like Tenten and Naruto.

"Ah, that's an excellent question Ino-san. The process of turning this iron bar into a katana or any other bladed weapon starts with me grinding it into a fine sand-like powder. From there I put it into my tatara furnace and add precise amounts of other metals; usually carbon, copper, tungsten, manganese, and titanium. Once they've all melted together I allow them to cool and form a steel bloom called a kera, I then carefully break the kera apart and separate the various carbon steels. The lowest carbon steel is called hocho-tetsu, which is used for the shingane (Literally; Core-steel), of the blade. The high carbon tamahagane and higher carbon steel, called nabe-gane, will then be forged in alternating layers, using very intricate methods to form the kawagane (Literally; Skin steel). The most useful process, however; is the folding, where the metals are forge welded, folded, and welded again, as many as sixteen times. The folding removes impurities and helps even out the carbon content, while the alternating layers combine hardness with ductility to create toughness. Once that's done, I then have a blade that I can set into a hilt and create a sheath for. That is how I turn these iron bars into katana. As an added bonus, because they're made from chakra conductive iron the steel retains the ability to conduct chakra making the blade stronger and more versatile as a weapon. This makes them more valuable and allows me to sell them at a higher price. Naruto here is the reason I'm able to purchase so much ordinary steel to make into kunai and shuriken and still keep my family at a comfortable level of wealth." Bukiji said with a laugh at the end that had Tenten rolling her eyes at her father's antics.

"So that's how katana are made. Thank you for explaining it to me, Bukiji-san." Ino said with a bow as Bukiji smiled.

"Don't mention it, Ino-san. I love talking about my work. Now you three go out and have some fun. I'll be busy for the next few days making a new chakra conductive sword." Bukiji stated before heading back to his forge.

"Ah yes, what did you two want to do today?" Tenten asked her two friends that had come to get her.

"Do you really need to ask, Tenten-chan?" Naruto asked with a crazy grin on his face.

"If it's with Naruto you know what he wants to do, Tenten-chan." Ino stated as Tenten nodded her head in understanding.

"So sparring until we all drop it is then?" Tenten asked to which Naruto enthusiastically nodded causing both Tenten and Ino to giggle at his exuberance. So, with a quick goodbye to Hanamiko, the three raced off to one of the training grounds and proceeded to spar until the sun had set. Afterwards Naruto walked both girls home before heading to his own apartment and simply shrugging off most of his clothing and crawling into bed.

The next morning, after a shower and breakfast, Naruto made his way to training ground three. He arrived a little after six am and noticed he was the last of the Genin to arrive.

"You're late Naruto!" Sakura yelled out with a tired look on her face. Sasuke simply ignored both of his teammates and sat against a tree with a tired scowl on his face.

"Sensei isn't here yet so I'm not late, Haruno." Naruto replied with a yawn as he headed over to the opposite side of the clearing. Once he'd found a strong tree, with a thick trunk, he began punching it repeatedly. After several punches Sakura finally shouted from across the clearing.

"Naruto, what are you doing? Sensei is going to be here any minute." Sakura asked while staring at her teammate.

"Just because I'm waiting for someone, that doesn't mean I'm not going to train and work hard to further my strength. You should try it sometime, Haruno, maybe you'd actually be worth fighting if you did." Naruto responded without looking at his pink haired teammate.

"Hey, you can't say that to me! I'm better than you think I am." Sakura shouted at Naruto with an angry scowl on her face.

"Really, Haruno, would you like to prove it?" Naruto asked as he stopped punching the tree and turned to face Sakura with his battle crazed grin.

"No! I, um, I mean not right now. We're about to be tested and all. I don't want to wear myself out." Sakura stuttered out as she turned to face Sasuke again.

"Heh, you're still disappointing. At least back up what you say, Haruno." Naruto said with a grunt as he started kicking the tree he had been punching. Over two hours later Kakashi appeared at the training grounds in a cloud of ninja smoke. What he saw when the smoke cleared was Naruto practicing Taijutsu against a heavily beaten tree trunk, Sasuke was glaring off into space, and Sakura jumping up when she saw him before screaming.

"You're late!" Sakura screamed so loud that the birds in the trees scattered from the sound.

"Sorry about that. A black cat crossed my path and I had to take the long way around to avoid it." Kakashi stated with an eye smile while Sakura and Sasuke stared at him angrily. Naruto still hadn't stopped striking the tree he was practicing on.

"Liar!" Sakura screamed again while pointing at Kakashi.

"Anyway, now that we're all here, we can start the test." Kakashi stated while pulling two bells out of his ninja pouch attached to the back of his left hip. "Your task is to retrieve these bells from me. Anyone that doesn't get a bell fails and is sent back to the Academy. Also you will be tied to one of those posts over there." Kakashi finished while pointing towards the training posts in the next clearing.

"But sensei, there are only two bells." Sakura exclaimed in confusion.

"That's true, Sakura, that means one of you will definitely fail." Kakashi stated with a blank look on his face before he attached the bells to his belt. "Make sure you come at me with the intent to kill otherwise you won't have any chance of getting a bell." Kakashi told them before he jumped back into the center of the clearing. "Begin!" he called out watching as Sasuke and Sakura disappeared into the forest. 'Those two have hidden themselves rather well. Naruto, however; not so much.' Kakashi thought to himself as he noticed Naruto, with a battle hungry look on his face, walking towards him. "You're a little off, are you sure you don't want to try hiding in the forest before attacking me?" Kakashi asked Naruto.

"What would be the point of trying to surprise attack you? You wouldn't let your guard down enough for any Genin to get the jump on you. So why waste my time? I'll just fight you and see how much fun I can have before one of us can't fight anymore." Naruto said before charging towards Kakashi with his Koutetsu at maximum density. Kakashi dodged the first punch only to jump back to avoid the sharp cutting edge that had just appeared on the outside of Naruto's arm.

"I see you can make any part of your body a blade. That will make blocking almost impossible." Kakashi noted before pulling out two kunai, once he had one in each hand he blocked Naruto's bladed fingers from impaling his face. With his free kunai he slashed at Naruto's arm only to watch as his kunai blade stopped when it hit the boy's skin.

"You're going to have to do better than that Kakashi-sensei." Naruto stated with a manic grin before he broke their stalemate and launched a bladed kick at Kakashi's torso. In response, Kakashi jumped back and sent both kunai at Naruto, who simply let them bounce off his armored body. Naruto quickly rushed Kakashi again sending multitudes of kicks, punches, and bladed attacks at the Jounin. Kakashi dodged everything before kicking Naruto in the chest and launching himself twenty feet away.

"It seems the best way to deal with you is to stay at long range." Kakashi stated as he brought his hands together to start making hand seals. Naruto's grin widened slightly before, in a burst of incredible speed, he closed the distance between Kakashi and himself and launched a bladed spear hand at the Jounin. Kakashi, able to react to the boy's sudden increase in speed due to his experience, managed to twist his body slightly before Naruto's hand plunged into his stomach. The result was Naruto's bladed hand slashing into Kakashi's side about two inches deep in the flesh, causing Kakashi's blood to stain the grass below them. Kakashi quickly jumped back before sending a barrage of kunai at Naruto. After the kunai all bounced off of him, Naruto spoke.

"This is a blast Kakashi-sensei. But if you aren't careful you'll lose this fight. Underestimating an opponent is the worse thing you can do in battle." Naruto said with a grin.

"It would seem that I've underestimated you a bit. But tell me, how did you suddenly increase your speed like that?" Kakashi questioned before seeing Naruto grin again.

"You mean like this?" Naruto asked as he suddenly appeared in front of Kakashi again; this time with his bladed arm coming down in a chopping motion. Kakashi took two steps back before using Kawarimi no jutsu to escape Naruto's follow up bladed roundhouse kick. Kakashi, while hiding amongst the trees after his escape, quickly pulled up his Jounin flak vest and the black shirt underneath to expose the wound Naruto had inflicted. With a quick application of some medical salve and a cloth bandage covering the wound, Kakashi quickly wrapped a strip of bandages around his stomach area to hold the bandage in place. With first aid completed Kakashi quickly started hand seals for a jutsu before moving to engage Naruto once more.

"Has Naruto always been this strong?" Sakura asked herself in a whisper as she watched Naruto and Kakashi exchange blows before the Jounin disappeared after using Kawarimi no jutsu. 'He's still not as good as Sasuke-kun, Cha!' Sakura's second personality screeched inside her head. Sakura nodded at that declaration before resuming the watch for her sensei. 'Damn it! When did the dobe get this strong? Where did he get his strength? I'm an Uchiha; I deserve that kind of power. I need that kind of power!' Sasuke ranted in his head after watching Naruto and Kakashi's match.

"Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no jutsu! (Literally; Double Suicide Decapitation Technique)" was heard throughout the training ground before Kakashi's hand reached up out of the ground and grabbed Naruto's ankle. Naruto was quickly pulled into the ground until only his head was above the earth. Kakashi appeared in front of the boy holding his, now bleeding, hand. "It seems as long as I can stop your movement you aren't much of a threat, Naruto." Kakashi stated as he watched Naruto start moving around trying to get out of the ground.

"Well I admit you took me by surprise with that one, Kakashi-sensei, but how is your hand feeling?" Naruto questioned with his manic grin still in place. Kakashi simply clenched his hand tighter causing blood to fall onto the ground beside him. "I can sprout blades from my body if my opponent grabs me; grappling techniques will only result in my opponent getting injured." Naruto explained as he began to move a bit more in his continued attempt to escape. Before Kakashi could reply several kunai and shuriken impaled his body in multiple places; only for Kakashi to disappear in a cloud of ninja smoke and be replaced by a log. 'Shit! Now he knows my location; I've got to get out of here and find a new vantage point.' Sasuke thought as he quickly tree hopped away from his sensei and trapped teammate.

"Are you ready to stop running away yet, Sasuke?" Kakashi questioned as Sasuke landed in a clearing a few hundred feet from the one Naruto was trapped in. Sasuke quickly turned around to find Kakashi wrapping a roll of bandages around his right hand.

"I'm not running; I'm different than those other two." Sasuke stated as he reached for his weapons pouch.

"You can only say that when you've got a bell, Sasuke." Kakashi stated before tying the bandage on his hand and waiting for Sasuke's next move. He didn't have to wait long as Sasuke launched several shuriken at him. Kakashi ducked the shuriken before hearing the telltale sound of a rope being cut behind him. With a quick leap Kakashi dodged the trap that launched several kunai at the tree he had been standing beside. 'So he'd already set a trap; that's very clever of you Sasuke.' Kakashi thought as he engaged the Uchiha in Taijutsu. Sasuke, meanwhile, was becoming frustrated as no matter how many punches or kicks he used or what combos he tried Kakashi blocked or dodged them all. "Surely you can do better than this, right Sasuke? I'm already injured and you're still not capable of taking a bell, that's somewhat disappointing." Kakashi taunted the young Uchiha before throwing him backwards across the clearing

"I'll show you how I plan on taking those bells!" Sasuke yelled before going through a few hand seals and ending on the tiger seal. "Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu! (Literally; Grand Fireball Technique)" Sasuke roared out as he spewed a large fireball at Kakashi. 'Most Genin don't have enough chakra for a technique of this caliber, seems he has a few surprises after all.' Kakashi mused before using Kawarimi no jutsu to escape the fireball. After the fire had dispersed Sasuke looked at the burnt ground where Kakashi was standing; only to find a burnt log instead of his Jounin-sensei. "Damn! Where is he? Left? Right? Behind? Above?" Sasuke questioned out loud as he scanned his surroundings for Kakashi.

"Below actually, Sasuke." Kakashi stated before Sasuke felt his ankle grabbed as he was drug into the ground until only his head was above the surface. Sasuke struggled wildly as he tried, and failed, to escape his sensei's technique. "To think that you'd fall for the same jutsu that you saw trap Naruto. It seems to me that you're not living up to your Rookie of the Year status, Sasuke." Kakashi stated as he appeared in front of the boy's field of vision. "Well, this just leaves Sakura. So long, Sasuke." Kakashi said with a wave as he leapt into the forest leaving the Uchiha stuck in the dirt. It didn't take long for Kakashi to find Sakura; once he had a simple D-Rank Genjutsu had made her pass out in fright. Kakashi had to sigh at Sakura's performance, the girls file said she was decent when it came to Genjutsu, apparently she wasn't as good as her file stated. With nothing left to do Kakashi went to check on Naruto who'd been trapped in the ground the longest. When he arrived in the clearing he left the blonde Genin in, to his shock he saw Naruto rising out of the ground on what appeared to be stilts made of iron. Once Naruto's feet where at ground level, he picked one up slightly and started retracting the iron stilt back into his foot. After the stilt was gone Naruto placed his foot back on solid ground before repeating the process with his other foot.

"So, Kakashi-sensei, are you ready to continue our fight?" Naruto questioned as he locked eyes with Kakashi. "I've found you worthy of fighting at full strength, so how about it?" Naruto asked with an even larger more feral grin than last time.

"Why not? We still have a few minutes before the test ends." Kakashi replied with an eye smile. Naruto chuckled lightly before reaching up and gripping his neckband; with a quick pull the neckband came off and Naruto put it into his pocket before his dark blue chakra exploded from his body creating an aura around the blonde Genin.

"So what do you think, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto questioned with his feral grin as his chakra aura flared around him.

"I was surprised Sasuke had enough chakra to utilize the Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu; but this, this is just insane. You're producing chakra in amounts some Jounin don't have." Kakashi replied while watching the feral grinning boy in front of him. Kakashi was much quicker to react this time when Naruto suddenly disappeared from his line of sight in a burst of high speed. With a leap backwards he put several feet between himself and where Naruto had aimed a bladed sidekick that would have pierced his chest if the Jounin hadn't moved. With several hand seals that were to fast to make out, Kakashi suddenly spewed out several small fireballs towards Naruto who simply flared his chakra aura and blew the flames out. 'So that aura can be used as another line of defense. Let's see how much it can take.' Kakashi thought before dodging another high speed attack from Naruto.

"Don't run away the whole fight now, Kakashi-sensei. That would be boring." Naruto called out before Kakashi completed another set of hand seals and slammed his hand on the ground. Within seconds, a dragon head made of earth rose up from the ground and started rapidly firing out spheres of mud at Naruto. The blonde Genin grinned before rushing into the incoming barrage. Several of the mud projectiles hit Naruto causing him to stumble slightly before he resumed his charge towards Kakashi. The Jounin quickly abandoned his position behind the dragon head when Naruto's bladed roundhouse kick cut the earthen creation in half. Kakashi quickly went through three hand seals before his hand was covered in lightning that made a sound like chirping birds. Naruto, while laughing loudly in excitement, quickly sprouted an already sharpened blade from his right palm and focused the majority of his chakra aura into it causing the blade to glow a dark blue. When Naruto brought the iron blade down on Kakashi, the Jounin brought up his lightning covered hand and struck the chakra infused blade. The two forces struggled to over power each other for several seconds; before, finally, the iron blade broke in two and the remainder of the blade completed its' arc and hit the ground with enough force to leave a small crater. A second after and the alarm Kakashi had placed on the middle training post went off, loud enough for everyone in the training ground to hear.

"Well, it looks like time is up Naruto, shall we gather up your teammates?" Kakashi asked with an eye smile as the lightning around his hand dissipated.

"Sure, why not?" Naruto responded as he examined where his iron blade had been broken before retracting it back into his palm and bending down to pick up the other part of his blade before doing the same to it. Naruto quickly placed his neckband seal back on; once again sealing his massive chakra away and causing his aura to disappear. It didn't take long to collect the other two Genin as Sasuke was still trapped and Sakura was still unconscious. After tying Sakura to the middle training post and then waking her up, Kakashi went on to explain his analysis of the test.

"Let's start off with you, Sakura. You did nothing during this test except hide and then fall under a Genjutsu. For that, you are the one tied to the post. Next, we move on to Sasuke. You did everything by yourself, you didn't even think about seeking help from Naruto or Sakura. Which lead to you being trapped. Finally, we get to Naruto. While you displayed impressive skills in combat, you also did everything yourself. If you had gotten assistance from Sasuke or Sakura you may have gotten the bells. Though I will commend you for catching me off guard and wounding me. Did any of you understand the point of this test?" Kakashi asked at the end while looking pointedly at all three Genin.

"From how you just summarized everything, my guess is teamwork." Naruto stated as he looked Kakashi directly in the eye.

"Correct, Naruto, the answer to this test is team work. Which none of you showed. For that reason I'd recommend that you all be dropped from the shinobi program. But, I'll give you one more chance to work together. If you do so and are able to get the bells, then I'll allow you to pass." Kakashi said while all three Genin stared at him with a mixture of anger, shame, and in Naruto's case, a grin? "Do you find something amusing about possibly failing this test Naruto?" Kakashi questioned the blonde Genin.

"Oh, no, not really. But I think I know of a way for us to pass right now." Naruto stated with a grin before he tossed the two bells at Sasuke and Sakura. Kakashi quickly looked down at his belt to find only two small pieces of string tied to his waist.

"I see; when did you take them, Naruto?" Kakashi asked as he hadn't noticed the boy getting within arms reach of the bells at all during the test.

"When your lightning attack broke my blade actually; my blade continued its' swing arc and my chakra lashed out and severed the bells from your waist. After that you didn't notice me pick them up after the alarm rang. You probably assumed I was just retrieving the other part of my blade." Naruto explained causing Kakashi to nod in understanding.

"Alright then, since Naruto just demonstrated exactly the kind of teamwork I was looking for; you all pass. I'd thank Naruto if I were you two." Kakashi stated while staring at Sasuke and Sakura. Naruto quickly cut the ropes holding Sakura before standing up and stretching until his back popped.

"Well, I don't know about anyone else but I think I'm gonna head for the hot springs and take a nice relaxing soak. After the fun I've had today I could use a relaxing bath." Naruto announced before heading towards the hot springs.

"I believe I'll be going to the hospital to get my injuries healed up, that way I won't have to deal with them anymore." Kakashi said out loud before disappearing in a cloud of ninja smoke.

"Sasuke-kun, would you like to go on a date?" Sakura asked the Uchiha.

"No, now leave me alone." Sasuke grumbled out as he stalked off towards his compound.

-End Chapter-

So what did everyone think? Good? Bad? Tell me with your reviews. On another note I've had several people ask me if I've based Naruto's bloodline off certain characters from other manga/anime. The answer is yes, the three characters that inspired the Tetsuheikihada are; Mr. 1 (Daz Bonez) from One Piece, Gazille Redfox from Fairy Tail, and Kenpachi Zaraki from Bleach. Their abilities and personalities were mixed together to form a bloodline and clan philosophy for this story. Though some restrictions/limitations were placed on some of their abilities to make them a better fit for the Narutoverse, the Tetsuheikihada does have the majority of their abilities within its' capabilities. Anyway, until next chapter, later.


	4. Chapter 4

Welcome one and all to chapter four of Iron Shinobi. I apologize for the wait but I've really been focusing my efforts towards getting a job. No luck yet but I'm still trying. Anyway, since Kishimoto is dragging out the history of Naruto's birth and the truth about what happened the night he was born I'm still holding off on writing Forest of Flames first chapter. To keep my fans happy however, I'm updating Iron Shinobi for your reading enjoyment. So sit back relax and let's get the chapter started.

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**Chapter Four - Encounter at the Hot Spring**

Naruto, having just passed his Genin exam, was headed for the hot springs to take a relaxing soak. It didn't take him long to reach the springs and after paying the admission fee he quickly went into the locker room to change. After stowing his clothes in a locker and wrapping a towel around his waist Naruto walked out of the men's locker room and down the hall leading to the hot spring.

"Let's see; Men's side, Women's side, or Co-ed spring?" Naruto read off the signs above the three doors in front of him. "Well the co-ed spring is probably full of old perverts hoping a girl will get in the spring with them, so that's out. I'm not a female so that rules out Women's side. I guess Men's side is for me." Naruto mused as he prepared to walk to the men's side of the spring.

"You keep leering at me, pervert, and I'll kick your ass." said a voice from the co-ed spring, loud enough for Naruto to hear through the door. 'That voice sounds familiar.' Naruto thought with a frown as he reversed his direction and headed towards the co-ed spring.

"Aww, come on now. You're too pretty to talk like that. Why don't you three friends let me help you relax?" came an older sounding male voice.

"You touch either of these girls and I'll make sure it's the last time you touch anything." said a woman's voice from behind the door.

"I could make all three of you feel very relaxed though." the older male voice said with a suggestive tone.

"I doubt that. Besides I don't like guys that are old enough to be my father hitting on me." said another familiar, to Naruto, voice.

"What's with all this noise?" Naruto demanded as he slid the door to the co-ed spring open and gazed at the four occupants. Tenten, Ino, and a purple haired woman sat on one side of the small spring while an older, slightly balding, man sat on the opposite side with a look of annoyance directed at Naruto for interrupting.

"It's nothing boy. Now run along so me an the ladies can have some privacy." The older man said with a shooing motion.

"Bullshit! This pervert has been harassing us since he got in the spring, Naruto-kun." Tenten stated while glaring at the old man.

"That's right, he won't stop staring even after we told him to stop. He's just a pig." Ino added as she too glared at the man.

"He probably would have tried something already if I wasn't here to help the girls." stated the purple haired woman as she looked Naruto directly in the eyes.

"Is that so? Well then, come along Mr. Pervert, we'll take you back to where you belong." Naruto stated with a manic grin as he reached for the old man.

"What're trying to do? Get away from me you brat!" the old man yelled before Naruto grabbed him by the back of the neck and physically drug the old man out of the spring.

"Enjoy your soak you three." Naruto said with a nod to the three women sitting in the spring before dragging the pervert out of the room and closing the door.

"Let me go you brat! You can't just drag me out of a spring I paid good money to use!" The old man yelled while squirming to get out of Naruto's grip.

"I can and will if you're harassing the other patrons. Especially if they happen to be women you idiot!" Naruto exclaimed before throwing the man in front of the desk in the lobby. "This man was harassing a few of your female patrons in the co-ed spring, I thought you might know what to do with him." Naruto said to the man and woman behind the counter, who happened to be the husband and wife who owned the hot spring.

"Yeah, we know exactly what to do with people like him." the man behind the desk said as his wife pulled a wooden bat from below the counter.

"Perverts must be punished!" the wife stated with a dark aura surrounding her form as she placed the bat on the counter.

"It's just bad for business if you're not." the husband agreed as he grabbed the man and thanked Naruto for bringing him to the front desk. Naruto quickly walked back to the co-ed spring just before the first dull thud of wood meeting flesh reached his ears. After opening the door to the spring slightly, Naruto let Ino, Tenten, and the purple haired woman know that the pervert had been dealt with and that they could enjoy their time in the spring.

"Why don't you join us Naruto-kun? We have towels on and we know you won't stare at us like a pervert." Tenten said before Naruto could close the door.

"Are you sure? I don't want to interrupt your soak." Naruto asked as he kept the door slightly ajar.

"If it's you, Naruto-kun, I don't mind as much. I know you respect women to much to do anything perverted." Ino stated from inside the spring.

"If these two vouch for you I won't mind as long as you don't do anything I dislike." the purple haired woman called out.

"Alright, as long as you're sure you don't mind." Naruto agreed before sliding open the door and shutting it behind him. Naruto quickly slipped into the spring and rested his back against the edge before letting out a content sigh at the feeling of the warm water.

"Thanks for getting rid of that pervert, Naruto-kun." Ino said as she looked towards Naruto with a smile.

"Yeah, he was making me want to get out. But he probably would've looked up my towel if I did." Tenten stated while stretching her arms above her head.

"It wasn't a problem Tenten-chan, Ino-chan. Who is your friend?" Naruto asked while looking at the purple haired woman.

"Uzuki Yugao, Naruto-san, nice to meet you." the newly named Yugao stated with a smile which Naruto returned.

"Likewise, Uzuki-san." Naruto replied while leaning his head back against the edge of the spring. For the next few minutes the group of four made small talk before the topic of ninja weaponry came up.

"Hey, Naruto-kun, my dad says that he'll be finished making a new sword from that iron you sold him in a couple more days. I can't wait to see it, the swords he makes from your iron always look perfect." Tenten stated with a smile to which Naruto nodded.

"I'm glad you like them so much, Tenten-chan. I'm always willing to do business with your dad." Naruto replied.

"You own an iron mine, Naruto-san?" Yugao asked with curiosity on her face.

"Huh? Oh, no I don't own an iron mine Uzuki-san. I produce iron with my bloodline limit. Then I sell it to Tenten-chan's father so he can make weapons from it." Naruto explained to Yugao who nodded.

"I see, you must be the boy I heard about a few years ago, the one with the Tetsuheikihada bloodline. Your bloodline is hard to come by in the Elemental Countries, considering the fact that your family dispersed themselves throughout the continent back in the era of warring countries. I've been an active kunoichi for years and I've never met another person who possessed your family's bloodline, Naruto-san." Yugao stated while Naruto nodded in agreement.

"From what I understand; most of my fellow Tetsuheikihada wielders tend to move around from place to place looking for strong opponents. It's not surprising that you haven't met another one. You may have seen a child that has the dormant bloodline but it's hard to tell because the bloodline usually activates between the ages of eight and ten." Naruto explained.

"Why would that be possible, Naruto-kun? Wouldn't the child's mother or father be around with the bloodline active already?" Ino questioned with a look of curiosity.

"My family has an unspoken rule, Ino-chan, if we are challenged to a fight and we end up losing the victor can ask for anything they'd like from us; unless the prize they want clashes with our personal honor code. In some cases, what the victor wants is our bloodline. Since we can't give them ours, a child is usually allowed to be conceived to give the victor's family our bloodline. Since the victor has already proven themselves strong enough to defeat the family member it keeps to my family's belief of making the next generation stronger. Sometimes the victor is already married though, so the parent simply leaves a way to contact them for when the child's bloodline activates. That is how my family insures the survival of our bloodline." Naruto explained to which Ino, Tenten, and Yugao looked shocked.

"But what about family secrets? Isn't your family worried someone might misuse their bloodlines' power?" Ino asked in shock. Coming from a clan herself she knew the danger someone could be if they misused the Yamanaka clans' secret techniques. Giving a bloodline like the Tetsuheikihada to someone who would misuse it was just asking for thousands of people to be killed or enslaved.

"Not really, what most people don't know is that once the Tetsuheikihada awakens, the child will often leave the family after a few years and go off in search of strong opponents themselves. That is why the Tetsuheikihada isn't known to come from any one clan. Our family simply doesn't care for clan names, rules, or long term residences. We don't have any interest in killing off villages or becoming tyrannical leaders, that would simply take to much time away from our chances to fight. In my case however, I plan to live in Konoha for the duration of my life. The life of a shinobi already guarantees plenty of combat against strong enemies so settling down in a Shinobi village makes sense. My future children will also live here and return here as Konoha shinobi, it'll be the first time since our family dispersed that we have a place to call our home." Naruto explained with a grin as the three women stared at him.

"So, you're saying, if I were to challenge you to a fight right now and I defeated you. I could ask to have your bloodline and you'd impregnate me no questions asked?" Yugao questioned while Tenten and Ino looked at her in shock.

"Uzuki-san! What're you talking about?" Ino asked with a hint of distrust in her voice.

"Yeah Yugao-san, if you do that I'll make sure you never get any weapons from my father again. Even if you are one of our best customers." Tenten stated with conviction as she stared at Yugao.

"Calm down Ino-chan, Tenten-chan. I'm sure Yugao just wants some clarification." Naruto said while trying to lessen the sudden tension.

"That's correct, I have no intention of carrying Naruto-san's child. I merely wish to make sure I understand what he said." Yugao explained with a relaxing smile that let both Genin kunoichi know that she was telling the truth.

"To answer your question, Uzuki-san, if you defeated me in battle then yes I would impregnate you if you asked for my bloodline." Naruto stated with complete seriousness.

"I see, that seems like it could put a difficult strain on any relationship you might have in the future." Yugao said while looking at Tenten and Ino causing both girls to blush scarlet.

"That's why it's an unspoken rule, Uzuki-san, it's better for everyone if no one but my family knows about it." Naruto replied while looking at all three women with a look that told them not to tell anyone.

Unbeknownst to the four in the co-ed spring, multiple kunoichi in the women's section next to the co-ed spring had heard the whispered conversation the group was having. All of the kunoichi quickly looked at each other before similar grins appeared on all their faces. 'I don't think this will bold well for young Naruto.' Kurenai thought as she and her friend Anko sat at the edge of the women's hot spring with their feet in the water. 'The little man better prepare for hell, he's about to get a shit load of it soon.' Anko thought as she saw the devious looks on the other women's faces.

"Don't worry, Naruto-kun, if a woman wants to challenge you for something like that they'll have to go through me first!" Ino said with determination.

"They'll have to get by me too. I won't let some random woman have your child." Tenten stated with conviction and fire in her eyes.

"Thanks Tenten-chan, Ino-chan. That means a lot. I'd like to keep the number of children I have exclusive to the woman or women I marry." Naruto stated with a smile.

"What do you mean women, Naruto-kun?" Tenten asked with a confused look.

"Apparently, according to village law, as the only living member of a kekkei genkai bearing family I'm legally allowed to have multiple wives to increase the rate at which my bloodline can multiply in successive generations." Naruto answered with a sigh as he recited what the Sandaime had explained to him and Yachiru on Naruto's last birthday. Both Tenten and Ino shared a glance at this new information before returning their gaze back to Naruto.

"Shall we leave this topic for one that is less serious perhaps?" Yugao asked and received nods from Naruto, Ino, and Tenten. "Alright, do you know when Hayate might be able to request a custom made chakra conductive sword of his own, Tenten-san?" Yugao asked as Tenten tilted her head slightly in thought.

"It could be awhile, Yugao-san. My father only orders chakra conductive iron from time to time. The only other way we receive it is if we get it from Naruto. So until my father orders more or Naruto sells him more I'm afraid Hayate is going to have to wait, Yugao-san, I'm sorry." Tenten answered with an apologetic smile.

"Don't worry about it too much, Tenten-san. Hayate knew he would have to wait for a while." Yugao stated with a small grin.

"You mentioned this, Hayate-san, would be receiving a chakra conductive sword of his own. Does that mean you have one already, Uzuki-san?" Naruto questioned.

"Yes, I requested Bukiji-san to craft me a katana almost a year ago. I received it several days later and have both marveled at its' beauty and strength, and trained hard to use it in combat." Yugao replied with a small smile.

"That sword was actually forged from one of the iron bars you sold my father Naruto." Tenten said causing Yugao and Naruto to look at each other before turning to Tenten.

"Is that true, Tenten-san?" Yugao asked.

"Of course, that's how my father was able to craft you a chakra conductive sword in such a relatively short amount of time." Tenten answered with a grin.

"It seems I must thank you for my sword as well, Naruto-san." Yugao stated with a small bow.

"Don't worry about it. I get paid well for the iron and knowing the weapon it's made into is keeping Konoha-nin safe is all the thanks I need." Naruto replied with a grin. The group of four chatted for a few more minutes before they decided to leave the hot springs and go their separate ways for the day.

The next morning Naruto woke up at his usual time and went through his hazy, half-asleep morning ritual, before sitting down to breakfast with Yachiru. After a breakfast of toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, and milk. Naruto quickly brushed his teeth before telling Yachiru to have a nice day and leaving for his team meeting. On the way to his team's meeting spot, a bridge overlooking a small stream near the Hokage tower, Naruto couldn't help but notice the looks several of the Chuunin and Jounin kunoichi were giving him. 'That's odd, I don't recall seeing them look at me like that before.' Naruto thought before shrugging it off as unimportant. He was only about two or three blocks from the bridge when a brunette kunoichi, a Chuunin judging by her vest, approach him.

"Can I help you, Chuunin-san?" Naruto asked with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"Yes, I believe you can, Genin-san. You're Uzumaki Naruto, correct?" the attractive brunette kunoichi asked.

"Yes, what is it that you need?" Naruto questioned as the kunoichi's eyes lit up with a barely noticeable glint.

"I'd like to challenge you for the right to bare your child." the kunoichi whispered so faintly Naruto barely heard it.

"What? Where did you hear that kind of information from?" Naruto questioned her while whispering. He knew Tenten and Ino wouldn't tell anyone and Uzuki-san seemed like a trustworthy person, so who had let his family's unspoken rule out into the open?

"A bunch of kunoichi overheard it at the hot springs yesterday. News like this travels fast, after all what better way to insure my child's strength than to have a powerful, bloodline carrying, man be the father?" the kunoichi explained with a grin that caused Naruto to expect more than just this woman would soon be challenging him.

"How many people know about this? I don't need a lynch mob of shinobi after me over this." Naruto stated with an annoyed look on his face.

"Only the kunoichi Chuunin and up know. The ones of us that are ready to have children are all planning to try and have your child. So you don't have to worry about the shinobi trying to harm you. We'd all much rather have you alive, Naruto-san." the kunoichi explained, inwardly making Naruto sigh in slight relief. 'At least I don't have to deal with angry shinobi over this mess. I should probably add a stipulation of one challenge per person otherwise I'll never have this end.' Naruto thought to himself before refocusing on the kunoichi in front of him.

"Very well, should you win this challenge I'll give you the child you want. However, should you lose you cannot challenge me for the right to bear my child ever again. Do you agree to these terms?" Naruto asked in his most serious tone of voice.

"I accept your terms, Naruto-san. I hope you're ready to be a father." the kunoichi replied with a wink. The two were soon in an out of the way training ground preparing for battle. "Are you ready Naruto-san?" the kunoichi questioned.

"Whenever you are." Naruto responded with his manic, battle crazed, grin. The kunoichi quickly let a wave of kunai and shuriken fly at Naruto before leaping back and beginning a set of hand seals. Naruto simply hardened his Koutetsu before charging straight through the wave of weapons towards the kunoichi. Before he got to her she finished her hand seals and called out her attack.

"_Suiton: Teppoudama no jutsu_! (Water Release: Gunshot Technique)" the kunoichi called out as she let off five water bullets in quick succession. Naruto charged through the first two water bullets but came to a dead stop after being struck by the third. The fourth water bullet made him skid back a few inches and the fifth bullet knocked him off his feet an onto his back.

"That's annoying." Naruto mumbled before jumping back to his feet and dodging the small fireball that was heading for him. "Not bad, kunoichi-san, try this." Naruto stated before rushing the kunoichi with his arms bladed. The kunoichi quickly jumped into a nearby tree and started another set of quick hand seals. Naruto was at the base of the tree when the kunoichi unleashed her attack.

"_Katon: Endan no jutsu_! (Fire Release: Fireball Technique)" she called out before sending another small fireball at him. Naruto raised his arms to block the attack and was consumed in the flames for a moment. The kunoichi suddenly felt the tree she was standing in shake before it started falling backwards. She quickly jumped from the falling tree and into the next nearest tree and examined what had happened. Near the base of the trees' trunk, a large section had been cut out and caused the tree to fall. Scanning the clearing she tried to find a trace of Naruto, only to jump from her perch on the tree branch to the forest floor right as Naruto's bladed axe kick severed the limb she had just been standing on.

"Watch out, Chuunin-san, I'll beat you if you underestimate me." Naruto called out as he landed a few feet away from the kunoichi.

"_Doton: Doro Gaeshi no jutsu_! (Earth Release: Mud Overturn Technique)" the kunoichi called out as she slammed both of her hands on the ground causing a wall of solid earth to rise up between them. Naruto tried to go around the wall but the kunoichi appeared to his right and slammed her hands down again causing another earthen wall to rise up between them. Naruto quickly tried to go to his left but the kunoichi was faster and raised another earthen wall to block him. Naruto quickly turned around only to see the kunoichi with her hands on the ground again. "Looks like I win, I'll let you out when you admit defeat." she stated as she playfully stuck out her tongue. Before Naruto could retaliate the fourth earthen wall rose and trapped him in an earthen box ten feet high with only a small opening at the top for air.

"Well, this is annoying. I better end this before I'm later than Kakashi-sensei." Naruto muttered before he extended a three foot blade from both of his hands and one from both of his elbows. After pushing chakra into the blades Naruto spun quickly and easily cleaved through all four walls. As the walls were falling and kicking up clouds of dust Naruto quickly used _Kyorioomata_ (Distance Stride) to shoulder tackle the stunned kunoichi. As soon as the kunoichi hit the ground Naruto put a blade on each side of her neck in a scissor formation. "I win, Chuunin-san." Naruto stated with finality as the kunoichi tried to get air back into her lungs.

"Yes…you, *cough*, win." The kunoichi admitted as she took slow deep breaths to get her breath back. Naruto quickly retracted his blades before pulling a small bottle of water out of his hip pouch and placing it beside the recovering kunoichi.

"It was a fun match, Chuunin-san, feel free to spar with me again sometime. Just without the whole child bearing thing." Naruto said with a wave as he quickly started tree hopping back towards his teams' meeting place.

"I don't know, Naruto-san, I think you might just outclass me in almost everyway." The kunoichi mumbled to herself before picking up the bottle of water Naruto had left for her and taking a few sips. "You're a sweet guy though, you'll make some lady very happy one day. Or ladies if any of the others have better luck than me." the kunoichi stated with a giggle at the end before standing up and walking back towards the village.

"Safe!" Naruto yelled upon landing beside the bridge where his teammates were waiting. After not seeing Kakashi anywhere at the meeting place Naruto sighed in relief. "Yeah, I'm safe. Got here before Kakashi-sensei at least." he mumbled out.

"Where the hell have you been Naruto!" Sakura yelled causing Naruto to look over at her with a bored expression.

"None of your damn business, Haruno." Naruto replied before leaning against the railing of the bridge to rest a little.

Shortly after Naruto's arrival Kakashi appeared in a swirl of leaves. With an orange book in hand and his single exposed I glued to the pages.

"Good morning, I'm sorry I was late but I had to help an old lady climb up ten flights of stairs before I could leave my apartment complex." Kakashi stated like he was talking about a common occurrence.

"Liar!" Sakura screeched causing everyone in hearing distance to cringe at the volume.

"Anyway, if you all are ready we can go get our first mission as Team Seven. How about it?" Kakashi asked to which his three students merely nodded and started walking towards the end of the small bridge. That's when Kakashi noticed something strange about one of his students. "Naruto, why do your clothes look singed? Did you burn them or something?" Kakashi questioned with a curious look in his visible eye.

"Something like that, Kakashi-sensei, something like that." Naruto replied with a disinterested shrug. Across Konoha a certain brunette Chuunin kunoichi sneezed.

"Someone must be talking about me, I wonder who?" she mumbled as she continued walking down the road towards her apartment.

"If you say so, Naruto." Kakashi responded while leading his team towards the Hokage tower to get their first mission. Once the group had arrived they approached the desk to see the Sandaime himself was handing out the missions today. "Team Seven requesting a mission, Hokage-sama." Kakashi stated with a bow.

"Ah, Team Seven, let's see what we have for you today. Hmm, I think this will do just fine." the Sandaime stated while passing Kakashi a mission scroll with the letter D in dark red printed on it.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama, we will return when the mission is completed." Kakashi stated with another bow before leading his team out of the missions office. 'I don't believe Naruto will like this mission much.' Sarutobi thought to himself before going through the missions for the next team that would come to request one.

Meanwhile, with Ino, said Yamanaka was punching at a training post with both fists as she thought about her current situation with Naruto. 'I can't let any of those bitches challenge him. Naruto would probably marry any girl he had a child with for the child's sake. I have to be strong enough to keep these other women away from Naruto-kun.' With that thought Ino punched the training post at an even faster pace.

At the same time, with Tenten, said girl was currently talking with her sensei about ways to increase her strength.

"Gai-sensei, is there anyway I can take my weapons mastery further? I need to get stronger than I am now." Tenten asked her eccentric sensei who smiled down at her.

"Tenten, your fires of youth know no limits! I know of a few ways to further increase your weapons proficiency as well as your strength overall. We shall start right away!" Gai shouted as Lee stood beside him with an awe-inspired look on his face.

"Gai-sensei, you're so youthful!" Lee shouted while in the 'good guy pose'. 'Don't worry, Naruto-kun, I won't let any of those whores bear your child. I'll get strong enough that none of them will ever be able to beat me, much less challenge you. I'll make sure those women stay away from you, Naruto-kun.' Tenten thought before focusing all her attention on Gai as he started to explain her new training.

"Kakashi, please tell me that not all of these D-Rank missions are simple chores like this one." Naruto stated as he cut another small log in two for firewood. Team Seven's current mission being to cut an elderly couples firewood. Not that Naruto didn't like helping the elderly, he just thought that a ninja mission would actually involve some amount of ninja skill. This was something any civilian could do.

"Don't worry, Naruto, the missions will get harder as you progress through the ranks. Until then be content with what you're given. It'll soon seem like a vacation compared to what you may have to do." Kakashi stated seriously as he placed another small log on the stump Naruto was cutting them on.

"You sound like you're speaking from experience." Naruto commented as he sliced the small log cleanly in two.

"I've been a shinobi for many years now, Naruto. There are times you'll have to do things you'd rather not, but in the end you'll do them for the sake of the village, the mission, and even your comrades." Kakashi stated as he placed two small logs on the stump this time. "We'll increase the number to get done faster." Kakashi said with an eye smile to which Naruto quickly split both logs cleanly down the middle in about one and a half seconds.

"I wonder how Sasuke-teme and his fan girl are doing over there?" Naruto questioned as he saw Sasuke swing an axe down on a small log of his own. Sakura quickly cleared the cut log and placed another one to be cut on their stump.

"They seem to be doing just fine, Naruto. Try three this time." Kakashi said while motioning towards the three small logs he'd placed on top of the stump.

"You got it, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto replied before splitting all three logs in roughly two and a quarter seconds. 'I'll have to get stronger fast. If any Jounin kunoichi challenged me I'm not sure I'd be able to beat them. I wouldn't mind being a father but I'd like to be a bit older before it happens and I'd also like to know the girl and actually have feelings for her at least a little bit.' Naruto mused to himself while slicing through four logs this time. 'Oh well, I'll just have to deal with it as it comes along. Hmm, I wonder what Yachiru-neesan is making for dinner tonight?'

-End Chapter-

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So how was it? Good? Bad? Let me know with your reviews. Anyway, this chapter was more of a filler/character development chapter. It also introduced the only older woman Naruto will really have prolonged contact with. As it stands until Kishimoto finally reveals exactly what happened the night of Naruto's birth, Forest of Flames is postponed. I hope you all can forgive me but I'd prefer to know the truth on the matter before I write another story. So until I get your reviews, later. P.S. Wish me luck job hunting.


	5. Chapter 5

Hello again to all of my fans. I'm sorry for the incredibly long wait but I finally have a job and it's been eating up most of my time. But I have some time off so I decided to get the next chapter of Iron Shinobi out.

To make up for the long wait I have decided to reveal a small tidbit of information in regards to the future of this story, _**Naruto will eventually have a child with a woman from another village**_. I won't reveal anything beyond that. I'll let you all think, wonder, and argue amongst yourselves as to who this lady is and how she comes to have Naruto's child.

With that said let's start the chapter.

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**Chapter Five - Training with the Moon Blade, Birth of a New Sword**

It had been two weeks since Team Seven's first mission and Naruto could safely say that he hated D Rank missions. There wasn't any battle at all! What was the point of taking a mission where you didn't get to fight? Naruto was currently heading for a training ground to work off some of his tension since Kakashi had given his team the day off.

"He probably wants more time to read that book he's always carrying around." Naruto muttered with a frown as he headed deeper into the forest. When he reached the edge of the training ground he'd been planning to use, Naruto stopped at hearing the sounds of someone else already training. Taking a look Naruto saw the long purple hair of one Uzuki Yugao, as she went through a complex Kenjutsu kata. 'She's really good with that blade. Hard to believe that work of art she's using came from my body.' Naruto thought as he watched Yugao's sword flow through the air in the complex movements of the kata.

"If you're done watching you can come out now." Yugao stated as she finished her kata and looked directly at Naruto. Naruto grinned with his usual manic battle expression as he entered the clearing and stood in front of Yugao.

"Just admiring your sword and your talent with it, Uzuki-san." Naruto explained as he looked her sword over again. "It's hard for me to believe that part of that sword once resided inside my body."

"I see your point, Uzumaki-san." Yugao replied as she too looked over her sword for probably the thousandth time. "It's a remarkable blade that has served me well ever since I received it."

"I'm glad to hear that. So what's its' name?" Naruto asked genuinely curious as to what Yugao and Bukiji had come up with for this one of a kind, custom made, sword.

"_Shizukagekkoo_ (Silent Moonlight), Uzumaki-san." Yugao answered with a fond smile as she held the blade in front of her.

"A beautiful name for a beautiful sword." Naruto agreed with a nod.

"So, you came out here to train I presume, Uzumaki-san." Yugao said while looking at the blond.

"Yeah, care to join me? I wouldn't mind sparring with someone as strong as an Anbu. That's too much fun to pass up." Naruto stated with a battle loving grin as he bladed his arms and fingers.

"Very well, Uzumaki-san, but don't expect me to go easy on you." Yugao responded as she brought her sword into a ready stance.

"I don't expect you to; I'd be annoyed if you did." Naruto replied before rushing the Anbu woman with his bladed arms and fingers launching towards her torso and head. 'Too slow, she's faster than my normal speed.' Naruto thought to himself as Yugao disappeared from his field of vision and he took a sword strike to his left side.

"You'll have to move far faster than that to be able to fight me, Uzumaki-san." Yugao stated while thinking to herself. 'This is going to be difficult. I slashed him at near full force and only sliced his clothing. I didn't cut his skin at all; this must be the power of the Koutetsu I've heard about. It will make it very difficult to defeat him with Kenjutsu.'

Yugao was given no more time to think as Naruto rushed towards her again. This time, however, when he was ten feet from her he suddenly disappeared and shoulder tackled the stunned Anbu woman in the chest. 'What in the world was that?' Yugao questioned herself mentally as she flew backwards from the force of the blow and tried to get air back into her lungs.

"Don't space out, Uzuki-san; it could cost you the spar." Naruto stated with his battle grin in place.

"I'll remember that, Uzumaki-san." Yugao replied as she placed her sword in front of her again. Before Naruto could even begin to make his next attack, Yugao vanished from his sight. The next thing Naruto felt was six separate slashes hitting both of his legs, both of his arms, and one slash hitting each of his shoulders. The only problem was he felt them all hit simultaneously before he hit the ground from the force of the strikes. "_Uzuki Ryu: Dairoku Tsukibumen_. (Uzuki Style: Sixth Moon Phase)" Yugao stated from where she was standing behind Naruto's sprawled body.

"Well, that hurt like hell. Remind me not to piss you off for real, Uzuki-san." Naruto stated as he stood back up and shook his body to get some feeling back to his arms and legs. Yugao turned around to face Naruto again while analyzing her last move. 'My Dairoku Tsukibumen was shrugged off? Amazing, to be able to get back up from a move meant to cripple and incapacitate enemies. Your bloodline serves you well, Uzumaki-san.'

Yugao and Naruto quickly charged towards each other and began exchanging blows back and forth. Every slash, stab, and strike Naruto tried was either dodged or blocked by the highly skilled Anbu kunoichi. 'It's been a while since I was this outclassed. This is probably what Kakashi can do if he gets serious.' Naruto mused to himself as he blocked Yugao's sword with his forearm and tried to spear her in the shoulder with his bladed fingers. Yugao spun away from the spear hand and swung her sword at Naruto's back only to have to jump back to avoid the mule kick Naruto sent at her.

"You're really good, Uzuki-san. Just what I'd expect from an Anbu. I'm having a blast sparring with you." Naruto said with his battle grin still in place.

"You're very skilled yourself, Uzumaki-san. Unfortunately I have duties to attend to today; so I'll have to bring our sparring to an end for today." Yugao stated before she once again disappeared from Naruto's view. 'Sorry, Uzuki-san, but I'm not waiting for you to hit me again.' Naruto thought before he disappeared from where he was standing and reappeared at the edge of the clearing using Kyorioomata. 'Now, where did she go?' Naruto wondered as he scanned the clearing for any sign of Yugao.

"Uzuki Ryu: Tobi Sanbanme Tsukibumen. (Uzuki Style: Flying Third Moon Phase)" Yugao stated as she appeared behind Naruto while spinning and slashing him across the back three times. Each slash was followed by a wave of barely visible blue chakra that launched Naruto halfway across the training ground before they dissipated. "I believe that's my win, Uzumaki-san." Yugao stated as she sheathed her sword and walked over to the downed Genin.

"Yeah, I can live with this outcome." Naruto stated as he pushed himself up from the ground. "Nice spar, Uzuki-san, let's do it again sometime." Naruto stated with his feral battle grin.

"I'll be sure to look you up if I'm in need of a sparring partner, Uzumaki-san." Yugao replied with a nod. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have duties to attend to." she said before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

"Well, that was a fun way to kill some time, though I really need to invest in some cheaper clothing." Naruto stated as he looked down at his black shirt to see it shredded. With a shrug Naruto tore the remains of his shirt off and walked back towards his and Yachiru's apartment to get another one. After walking for a while Naruto began to notice that several Chuunin, Jounin, and even civilian women were staring at his exposed chest with an almost hungry look. 'Ok, this probably wasn't the best idea.' Naruto thought before quickly taking to the rooftops to avoid the women's gazes. After roof hopping for a few minutes Naruto made it to his apartment and let himself in to get a replacement shirt. Once he was fully clothed he headed back out into the village to find something else to do.

A few hours later found Naruto sitting at Ichiraku Ramen devouring his fourth bowl of ramen. He'd been making light conversation with Ayame and Teuchi between bowls when a familiar face walked into the ramen stand.

"Found you, Naruto-kun!" Ino said with a smile as she sat next to him.

"Hey, Ino-chan, how have you been?" Naruto asked after swallowing his current mouthful of ramen.

"I've been alright. Asuma-sensei has had us working a lot on team work and taking D Rank missions. I have to keep motivating Shikamaru to actually train but other than that everything is going pretty smoothly." Ino replied with a smile before Teuchi asked what she'd like. "I'll take a beef and vegetable ramen and some green tea, thank you." Ino answered as Teuchi nodded and headed back to prepare Ino's order.

"So how long were you going to wait to tell me you had a girlfriend, Naruto-kun?" Ayame asked as she looked at the two Genin sitting together. Both Ino and Naruto blushed before looking at each other and turning back to Ayame.

"Ayame-neechan! We're not together like that! What're you talking about? Don't say stuff like that!" Naruto shouted rapidly causing Ayame to laugh loudly at getting her surrogate little brother so flustered. Ino chose to remain quiet with her blush burning her face a bright red.

"Oh, but you two are so adorable together!" Ayame continued to tease the two until Ino's order came.

"What did I miss?" Teuchi asked as he set Ino's ramen and tea down in front of the girl.

"Nothing! Not a thing!" Naruto replied quickly while glaring at Ayame. "Right Ayame-neechan?" Naruto asked causing the ramen waitress to laugh and make shooing motions with her hand.

'Nothing at all, tou-san. Just teasing Naruto-kun." Ayame responded before heading to the back of the stand.

"Just like her mother." Teuchi stated with a sigh while shaking his head slightly.

"So what were you looking for me for, Ino-chan?" Naruto asked the Yamanaka heiress after finishing his ramen.

"Tenten asked me to come find you actually. Bukiji-san has just finished the sword he made from your iron and he wants you to see it before it's sold." Ino explained while finishing her tea and putting some money down for the bowl of ramen she'd eaten.

"Well, I do enjoy seeing the results of Bukiji's work, I guess we'd better hurry on over to Suchiirubusou then." Naruto stated before paying for his ramen and leaving the stand with Ino. It only took the two Genin a few minutes to reach the store via roof hopping and once they entered the store both of them were grabbed by Tenten and drug towards the front counter.

"Here it is you two! It's beautiful! Don't you think so?" Tenten stated with a happy sigh as she showed them the sword sitting on top of the counter. Bukiji was sitting behind the counter with a smile as he saw the three Genin admiring his latest creation. The sword was the size of the average katana, with a dark red wrapping around the hilt and a circular tsuba with four crescent moons on each side. The sheathe was a dark black and was resting beside the blade. The blade itself was perfectly polished, giving it an almost mirror like appearance. The hamon was perfect, a clear line with a gentle wave to it along the entire length of the blade. The blade also had an incredibly sharpened edge that looked as thin as paper and capable of slicing through just about anything.

"Beautiful." Ino mumbled, still transfixed by the sword in front of her.

"Another masterpiece, Bukiji-san." Naruto stated with a nod as he observed the result of the iron he'd sold the sword smith.

"Thank you, Naruto boy. The one who commissioned the sword should be here soon to pick it up." Bukiji said with a grin as the three Genin continued to admire the katana. A few minutes later and the door to the shop opened allowing a man to enter the shop and approach the counter. The man was a shinobi according to his clothing which consisted of long dark pants, a long sleeved dark shirt and a green flak vest. His headband was a bandana that covered the man's hair from view, except for some bangs that hung from under the bottom of the cloth. The man also appeared to be somewhat ill if the slight bags under his eyes and the small coughs he let out as he reached the counter were any indication.

"Good afternoon, Bukiji-san. I'm here to pick up my new sword." the ninja said with a slight cough at the end.

"You're right on time, Hayate-san. This is your new sword, please take it and test its' abilities." Bukiji replied as he motioned towards the katana on top of the counter.

"Thank you, Bukiji-san." Hayate stated with a nod as he carefully gripped the hilt of the sword and brought it closer to his face for inspection. After almost a full minute, where Hayate had examined the sword from every possible angle, he picked up the sheathe and slid the blade inside it, stopping with a distinct click of metal on metal. "It's perfect, Bukiji-san. A mastery of sword crafting if ever there was one. It has perfect balance and the edge is as thin and fine as the best swords ever made." Hayate stated with a small bow to Bukiji for his craftsmanship.

"I'm glad you like it, Hayate-kun. But a swords' true merit is in its' performance, so why don't we head out back and put it through a few tests?" Bukiji offered as he stood up from behind the desk and motioned for Hayate and the Genin to follow him. Once outside behind the shop, Bukiji motioned to multiple human shaped training dummies. "These dummies simulate actual human tissue and bone structure. Cutting through one of them is about the same as cutting through an actual person. Let's see how many your new blade can slice through in a single swing, Hayate-san." Bukiji stated as he arranged the dummies into a single file line.

"Very well, Bukiji-san." Hayate said as he approached the dummies while unsheathing his sword.

"This should be interesting." Naruto whispered to Ino and Tenten. Ino nodded silently while watching Hayate. Tenten made a shushing noise at Naruto before she too went back to observing Hayate. With a quick swing, that was so fast all three Genin saw was a silver flash, Hayate's blade had sliced through six of the dummies' abdomens and was about an inch deep in the seventh dummies waist. He gently removed the blade before taking out a cloth and wiping some residue from the dummies off the blade before sheathing it on his back.

"Hmm, so it's a six body blade without using its chakra conductive abilities. Just what I thought." Bukiji stated with a nod as he examined the six bisected dummies that were now lying on the ground.

"Wow, that's incredible." Ino stated with wide eyes.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from tou-san." Tenten said with a grin at seeing the masterpiece in action.

"Very impressive, I wonder how thick the armor would have to be to stop a blade like that?" Naruto wondered out loud as he thought about the strength of the katana.

"Let's test the swords' chakra abilities now. This dummy is wearing common armor made from steel and leather. Let's see what your sword does to it, Hayate-san." Bukiji stated as he patted the armored dummy on the shoulder before stepping out of the way.

"I'm interested to see how the sword reacts to my chakra as well, Bukiji-san." Hayate responded before unsheathing the sword and standing in front of the dummy. In another swing that was to fast for the Genin to catch the dummy was sliced in two from right shoulder to left hip, straight through the armor. Before anyone could comment, both halves of the dummy, mostly the leather parts of the armor, were slowly being burned by small flames that appeared at the edges of the cut. Within a few moments the entire dummy was burning with campfire sized flames consuming both halves of the dummy. "So, the blade takes my Fire Natured chakra and uses it to superheat the cuts I make with the sword, causing them to burst into flames. This is a very powerful sword, Bukiji-san." Hayate said while marveling at his new swords' power.

"I believe that sword can do even more with your chakra, depending on how much you channel into it, Hayate-san." Bukiji replied while Hayate nodded in agreement, in truth he'd only channeled enough chakra into the sword for an effective Henge no jutsu. If he channeled enough chakra for a C Rank jutsu into the sword who knows how much heat and fire it might produce?

"That was a most impressive display, Hayate." a familiar voice stated as Yugao landed in the testing area of the weapons shop.

"Thank you, Yugao. I think my new sword is very impressive too." Hayate replied to the purple haired Anbu kunoichi.

"So, what will you call it?" Yugao asked as she walked towards Hayate and the others. Hayate and Bukiji whispered between themselves for a few moments before they turned back towards the group.

"We've decided to call it, _Nenshouengetsu_ (Burning Crescent Moon)." Hayate stated causing Yugao to nod at the name.

"So how do you two know each other?" Ino asked as she, Naruto, and Tenten approached the three adults, after putting out the burning training dummy.

"We're cousins, actually, Ino-san." Yugao answered while Hayate nodded.

"Our mothers are sisters; they each took their husbands names when they got married, so we don't have the same family name anymore. But since neither of us has any siblings we naturally grew up together and became close. Some people use to think we were dating but most of them know we're related now." Hayate explained before turning to Yugao. "So what did you come here for, Yugao? I thought you had a mission today." Hayate asked causing Yugao to become professional.

"I do have a mission today. You're to accompany my team to Southern Hi no Kuni. Our mission takes place there. I'm afraid that's all I can tell you until the official briefing with Hokage-sama." Yugao stated seriously. Hayate nodded before thanking Bukiji for his sword again. In a swirl of leaves both Yugao and Hayate disappeared, both of them heading for the Hokage's office.

"Well, I say we celebrate the birth of another of Bukiji-san's masterpieces. Who's up for some sparring?" Naruto asked with a grin causing Bukiji to laugh while Ino and Tenten both giggled at Naruto's antics.

"I'm afraid I'll have to pass, Naruto boy. I've got a store to run and all." Bukiji stated with a grin as he started walking back towards the store.

"I'll join you Naruto-kun, I don't have anything else to do today anyway." Tenten answered causing Naruto to grin wider.

"I could use a good work out, so I'll come along too." Ino stated with a smile.

"Three way free for all sparring, this is gonna be fun!" Naruto exclaimed as the three Genin raced off towards the training grounds.

After finding a suitable location for their brawl, the three Genin each got in their respective stances before they all charged at each other. Tenten attacked first with a volley of shuriken aimed at both Ino and Naruto. Ino dodged to the left while Naruto simply charged through the barrage of weapons. Naruto sent a bladed kick towards Tenten which was dodged by a few inches. Naruto had to quickly pull his left forearm up to block Ino's side kick that was aimed at his head. Tenten took advantage of Naruto's distraction and launched her own kick into his stomach. Naruto grunted at the kick before sending both girls back a few feet as he pushed them back. He quickly bladed both of his arms causing both girls to jump back farther to keep a safe distance.

"So, who's going to attack next?" Naruto asked both girls with a grin. Tenten unsealed a metal Bo staff from one of her scrolls before rushing Naruto with a multitude of swipes and jabs. Naruto blocked the swipes with his arms while knocking the jabs aside. He used his still bladed arms to strike back at Tenten putting the kunoichi on the defensive as she blocked his arms with her metal staff. Ino suddenly reappeared and launched a kick into Naruto's head, sending the boy sprawling, before using a quick turn to launch a round house kick at Tenten knocking the girl aside as well.

"You dropped your weights, right Ino-chan?" Tenten questioned as she quickly recovered and placed her staff between herself and her blond friend.

"Yep, try to keep up, Tenten-chan." Ino replied before rushing the other girl and sending multiple kicks at her, all of which were blocked by Tenten's expertise with her staff. Naruto was quick to re-enter the fight putting both girls on the defensive with his bladed arms and legs. Tenten was able to catch Naruto off guard with a strike to his legs which knocked the boy to the ground. Ino, seeing the opening, tried to axe kick Naruto. Naruto caught the kick in one hand and slung Ino into Tenten with it. Both girls toppled over onto the ground allowing Naruto to return to his feet and look at the tangled up girls.

"Come on now, I know both of you girls can do better than this." Naruto stated with a challenging grin.

"Damn right we can." Tenten replied as she and Ino both stood up before moving a few feet away from each other. Tenten went through a few hand seals before her skin turned a dark grayish brown. "_Doton: Gansekihifu Yoroi no jutsu_ (Earth Release: Rock Skin Armor). Tenten stated as she dropped back into her Taijutsu stance.

"Well this is unexpected. Tenten, weapons mistress in-training, using Ninjutsu." Naruto stated surprised. "What brought this change on, Tenten-chan?" he asked the bun-haired girl curiously.

"I asked Gai-sensei how I could take my weapons mastery further than I already had. His first method was to master the body and become a weapon." Tenten explained as she dashed at Naruto. Naruto raised his arms to block as Tenten threw a punch at him. To his surprise Tenten's punch felt like being hit with a large rock. Naruto flew backwards from the impact and landed on the ground dazed. 'That freaking hurt a bit!' Naruto thought to himself as he saw Ino launch a barrage of kunai at Tenten. Tenten took a page out of Naruto's book and charged through the weapons as they bounced harmlessly off her skin. Ino quickly dove out of the way as Tenten tried to land a round house kick on the Yamanaka heiress.

"Alright, Tenten-chan, I didn't want to use this just yet since I haven't perfected it but now is as good a time as any. Ino quickly flipped through a few hand seals before calling out her jutsu, "_Ninpou: Shinranshin no jutsu_ (Ninja Art: Mind Derangement Technique)." Ino called out as Tenten rushed towards her. Before Tenten knew what was happening her body suddenly froze up. Tenten tried moving her body but wasn't able to do anything against Ino's jutsu. "Now, let's see how your jutsu compares against Naruto's bloodline." Ino stated with a grin as Tenten found her body running towards Naruto and aiming a punch at the boy. Naruto dodged the punch before throwing one of his own which was blocked. Naruto quickly launched a kick into Tenten's stomach sending the girl back a few feet before he rushed towards Ino to disrupt her jutsu. Ino tried to dodge Naruto's incoming assault, but she had to cancel her jutsu just to stay out of range of Naruto's bladed arms and legs.

Ino was quickly driven back towards Tenten's location just as the other girl was getting back on her feet. Ino landed beside Tenten as Naruto stood across from both kunoichi with close to twenty feet separating them. Ino and Tenten shared a look between each other before both stood side by side in their respective stances.

"So, two on one now, huh? Well, I guess I'll be having more fun than I thought!" Naruto exclaimed as his feral battle grin spread across his face. Naruto quickly inhaled before producing small scraps of iron from his tongue. He quickly applied chakra to his lungs, to increase the power of his breath, before exhaling and sending all the small scrap iron pieces at Ino and Tenten. The two girls were caught off guard by Naruto's attack for a moment before Tenten jumped in front of Ino and used her jutsu protected body as a shield against the shrapnel flying at them. Tenten felt multiple stings of pain as the fast moving shrapnel struck her body over and over again. When Naruto's technique ended Tenten dropped to the ground cancelling her jutsu and panting from the drain on her chakra.

"What technique was that, Naruto-kun?" Ino questioned as she knelt beside Tenten while thanking the other girl for protecting her.

"That was a technique called _Tetsuhaiki_ (Iron Blade Breath). It uses small pieces of iron shrapnel to attack multiple opponents. If I use more iron and focus more chakra to my lungs I can make the shrapnel fly fast enough to pierce armor." Naruto explained as he walked over to the two girls and kneeled down to check on Tenten.

"Well, you can safely say it works. I felt those pieces of iron hitting me even with my jutsu active." Tenten stated with a grin as Naruto and Ino helped her up.

"So, should we call it a day for training? I don't think Tenten-chan has much chakra left." Ino said to which Tenten nodded.

"Yeah, I'm about out. All I feel like doing right now is heading to bed for a nap." Tenten admitted with a grin to her friends.

"Alright, I think we can all use some down time. Let's go drop Tenten-chan off at her place so she can rest. Then I'll walk you home Ino-chan." Naruto said as the trio left the training ground and headed for Tenten's home. Several minutes later Tenten waved goodbye to her friends as she headed inside her home to take a nap; while ignoring her dad making jokes about how she always came back disheveled when she went out with Naruto. A few minutes later and Ino and Naruto separated at Ino's house after saying goodbye to each other. Ino quickly found her father and told him about her successful use of the Shinranshin no jutsu.

Naruto arrived at his apartment sometime later and sat down to a meal with Yachiru, followed by a warm shower, before he spent the remainder of the evening watching TV on the couch with Yachiru. All in all, Naruto thought it had been a good day for his first day off as a ninja. With that thought in mind Naruto headed to his room for bed. As he lay in his bed trying to fall asleep he couldn't help but wonder when he'd get his first combat mission as a shinobi. 'As long as I get to do some serious fighting soon, I'll be happy. These D Ranks are getting old kind of fast.' Naruto thought as he slowly started to drift off to sleep.

-x-End Chapter-x-

So how was it? Good? Bad? Let me know with your reviews. I know this chapter is short compared to most of my chapters, but it's mainly showing the growth of Ino and Tenten as well as introducing some prominent characters in the future of this story. As for Yugao and Hayate being cousins, what can I say I'm trying to be original here. After all, in never says for a fact in the manga or anime that Yugao and Hayate are romantically involved. At least not anything that I read or watched. Plus, you'd leave flowers for a family member that was killed in combat just as much as you'd leave flowers for a lover. Anyway, I hope this pleases you, my fans, and makes you want to read the next chapter of Iron Shinobi. Until I get your reviews, later.


	6. Chapter 6

Welcome one and all to the sixth chapter of Iron Shinobi. I deeply apologize for the horrifically long wait. Over a year and a half! What the hell, right? My only excuse is life. For the last year or so I've been going to work and college full time so my time to write was zero. But now that I'm on summer break from college I can start updating my three stories and give my fans what they've been waiting for. So let's get right into it.

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**Chapter Six – Solo Mission the Stolen Sword**

It had been almost two weeks since Naruto had seen the birth of Hayate's new katana. In that time he had done team training and missions with Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura. All the missions however were nothing but D-Ranks which was seriously starting to grate on Naruto's nerves. His family's infamous battle lust had been growing stronger and his urge to fight had been slowly making him more short tempered.

"I really need some kind of combat mission soon." Naruto remarked with a sigh as he walked with his team towards the Hokage Tower.

"I know you're getting annoyed with D-Ranks Naruto but as new Genin Team Seven won't be approved for higher ranked missions for a while longer." Kakashi stated while reading his Icha Icha Paradise book as he walked alongside his team.

"I know that, Kakashi-sensei. It doesn't change the fact that sparring isn't taking the edge off my thirst for battle as much as it used to." Naruto replied with a dissatisfied grunt as the Hokage Tower came into view.

"Maybe you should ask for something more combat oriented this time Kakashi-sensei." Sakura suggested as she looked between her sensei and teammate. It was no secret that Naruto had been getting more short-tempered lately as evidenced by the time he'd sliced a small tree in half to get Sakura to stop talking about how amazing Sasuke was.

"Hn." Was all Sasuke added to the conversation. Even though he agreed that D-Ranks weren't good enough missions for an elite Uchiha like him.

"We'll see." Kakashi stated as the four of them entered the Hokage Tower and walked towards the mission assignment office. When they arrived they noticed the Sandaime was sitting behind the desk looking over a scroll with a stern expression on his face.

"Hokage-sama, Team Seven reporting for mission assignment." Kakashi said as he and his team bowed slightly in respect of their leader.

"Good to see that you four are looking well." Hiruzen Sarutobi replied as he looked up from the scroll he was examining. After taking in the appearance of the team and noticing Naruto's agitated state he asked a question. "Naruto, how are you feeling lately?"

"Annoyed and aggravated, Jiji." Naruto replied with a small scowl. As he looked at his surrogate grandfather.

"The need to battle for real is building up isn't it, Naruto?" Sarutobi questioned as Naruto nodded at the question.

"Sparring isn't taking the edge off much anymore, Jiji." Naruto replied with a shake of his head. Sarutobi nodded in response to the statement before perusing the contents of the scroll he had been examining earlier once again. Team Seven stood at attention as the Hokage looked over the scroll in his hands.

"Kakashi, what would you rate Naruto's skill level at currently?" Sarutobi questioned the Jounin as he looked up from the scroll. Kakashi responded while his faced betrayed only slight confusion.

"Naruto's current skill level is close to an average Chuunin's in combat ability. His lack of experience on the battlefield is the only thing holding him back from being high Chuunin combat wise. His proficiency in his Kekkei Genkai, Taijutsu, and Kenjutsu are the highest in his graduating group. Overall I'd say Naruto could take on most Chuunin level opponents and come out the victor without serious injury, sir." Kakashi reported while staring directly into his leader's eyes. Both Sasuke and Sakura looked at Naruto hearing their sensei praise the boy's combat ability so highly in his report. 'I doubt the dobe could beat any truly skilled Chuunin. Only an elite Uchiha like me could easily accomplish such a feat at our age.' Sasuke thought to himself with his normal egotistical arrogance. 'Naruto still isn't better than Sasuke-kun.' Sakura thought with a nod of her head at her own reasoning.

"I see." Sarutobi stated with a nod before placing the scroll he held on his desk in front of him. "Then I've decided that Naruto should be ready to take his first solo combat mission."

"Seriously Jiji!" Naruto exclaimed in surprised joy. Both Sasuke and Sakura stood in shock of what the Hokage had just stated. Kakashi, however; couldn't have been prouder of his student's strength being recognized. The fact that he had a hand in bringing out some more of that strength in the time Team Seven had been together only made him prouder. Proving to himself that he was a capable sensei just as the Yondaime Hokage had been to him and his old team. Sarutobi nodded in response to Naruto's exclamation before going over what Naruto's solo mission would entail.

"A shinobi by the name of Rokushou Aoi has been spotted within the borders of Hi no Kuni. Aoi is a known Konoha missing-nin and is to be captured or killed on sight for his crimes against Konoha and Hi no Kuni." Sarutobi explained to Naruto as the rest of Team Seven watched on.

"What did he do to become a missing-nin anyway Jiji?" Naruto asked as he looked at the picture of Aoi that was on the scroll. Aoi was a man with dark green hair who stood at about five feet and eight inches tall. In the picture he was wearing attire typically worn by Shinobi of Amegakure, including a weaponized umbrella strapped across his back and an Amegakure forehead protector tied to his forehead.

"Aoi's crimes stand as treason, desertion, theft, and allying himself with an enemy village." Sarutobi said as he listed off Aoi's various crimes against Konoha and Hi no Kuni.

"I understand the treason, desertion, and allying himself with an enemy village. But what did he steal that was important enough to mention?" Naruto questioned as he continued to look over Aoi's profile.

"He stole the Nidaime Hokage's famous Raijin sword." Sarutobi stated with a serious tone. He had never forgiven Aoi for taking one of his sensei's most prized possessions.

"Where do I need to go to find Aoi?" Naruto asked as he remembered the lessons given about the Nidaime's famous sword in the academy. A sword of lightning would be a weapon any village would want to possess.

"Apparently Aoi was attacked by a patrol of Kumogakure shinobi who wanted to take the Raijin back to Kumogakure. The report from our spy says that Aoi crossed the border into Hi no Kuni to escape pursuit. He is currently hiding out somewhere in Zaimoku village about twenty miles away from the border. It should only take you a day or so to reach the village travelling by yourself. Find Aoi and either capture or kill him, retrieve the Raijin sword and you'll be rewarded with Aoi's bounty upon completion of the mission." Sarutobi briefed Naruto who nodded and bowed to his leader.

"I will not fail, Jiji. I'll return the Raijin and Rokushou Aoi to Konohagakure shortly." Naruto stated as he rose from his bow. "Though whether Aoi comes back alive or in a body bag will be up to him." Naruto stated with a grin as he turned to Kakashi and the rest of his team. "I'll be heading out a soon as I'm packed up for the trip. I'll see you later Kakashi-sensei, Sakura, Sasuke." Naruto said getting a nod from Kakashi a quick 'good luck' from Sakura and a grunt from Sasuke. Naruto quickly left the office and headed to his and Yachiru's apartment to pack for his mission.

~Timeskip – Thirty Minutes later~

"All packed Naruto-kun?" Yachiru asked her surrogate son as he headed for the door of the apartment.

"Yeah, I've got it all Yachiru-neesan. I'll see you in a few days." Naruto replied with a grin as Yachiru nodded.

"Be careful out there Naruto and good luck on your mission." Yachiru said as she gave him a quick hug before he headed out the door and closed it behind him.

On his way to the village gates he stopped by the Yamanaka flower shop to tell Ino about his mission and his absence from the village for the next few days. After talking for a few minutes and Ino giving him words of luck and a hug Naruto left the Yamanaka flower shop and headed for Suchiirubusou to tell Tenten as well. After another round of encouragement and a hug from Tenten, Naruto left the weapon shop and made his way out of the village. Once outside of the gates Naruto took a deep breath and with a grin jumped off into the trees and made his way towards Zaimoku village. As he was jumping from tree to tree Naruto couldn't help but get more excited at the thought of the battle to come. Aoi was ranked as a Special Jounin when he was a part of Konoha, but according to the last few reports from various spies and scouts Aoi had been slacking in his training after acquiring the Raijin. Using the sword's power to cover for his lack of dedicated training. Now his estimated level without the Raijin's power was close to an average Chuunin.

"I'll just have to teach this guy that training is the only way to keep true strength and that no sword, no matter how powerful, is enough to make up for laziness." Naruto thought out loud as he continued jumping through the trees. It was just after nightfall when Naruto made his way into Zaimoku village. Knowing that Aoi would be keeping as much of a low profile as possible considering he was in his old home village's territory Naruto simply checked into a small Inn for the night and decided to start his search in the morning. Waking up the next morning Naruto went through a brief version of his morning ritual before using the Henge no jutsu to appear as an average teenager and walking through the village streets. After a few hours of searching the various areas of the village Naruto was beginning to think that Aoi may have already skipped out of Zaimoku.

"I wonder where he would go though." Naruto mumbled to himself in thought as he scanned the crowd walking down the village road he was sitting on a bench near. Naruto searched for another hour before deciding to get some lunch at a small restaurant near the main road of the village. After his meal of fish and rice with tea, Naruto was leaving the establishment when he spotted a man wearing an inconspicuous grey travelling cloak and a straw gasa hat leaving the main road and walking into an alley. Naruto knew from his own exploration of the village that several of the alleyways could connect to make an almost unseen path out of the village and decided to follow the man that could very well be his target. Naruto kept himself a safe distance away from the man he was following through the back alleys of Zaimoku. After emerging from the last alleyway Naruto found himself at the edge of the village with the forest no more than fifty feet in front of him. Knowing that his target would more than likely still be walking so as to not be noticed jumping through the forest, Naruto gave chase and after several minutes of quietly dashing from tree to tree always staying out of sight he spotted his target lightly jogging through the forest in the direction of the border.

Since he couldn't be sure that this man was actually Aoi without seeing him Naruto wasn't going to attack the man and possibly kill and innocent drifter. So deciding to forego stealth Naruto jumped into the trees and dashed ahead of the man while dispelling his Henge no jutsu. Naruto jumped down in front of the man causing the man to stop in his jog and look up at Naruto. When Naruto saw the man's face he recognized Aoi's look from the picture instantly. Likewise upon seeing Naruto's Konoha headband Aoi's eyes widened before he threw off his cloak and gasa hat and pulled his umbrella off his back and holding it in a defensive position.

"Found you, Rokushou Aoi." Naruto stated with a grin as he got into a Taijutsu stance.

"Konoha must think pretty highly of themselves if they've decided that a mere child can take me out." Aoi responded with a cocky smirk as he quickly threw his umbrella into the air. The umbrella opened in midair before it started to spin and released dozens upon dozens of senbon at high speed towards Naruto. "Ninpo: Jurou Senbon! (Ninja Art: Sprinkling Needles)" Aoi called out his attack as the senbon flew towards Naruto at high speed. As the senbon struck Naruto and the area surrounding him a cloud of dust rose up obscuring Aoi's view of Naruto. "Ha! That was pathetic. He didn't even last half a minute." Aoi laughed as his umbrella slowly floated into his hand. As the dust cleared Aoi was expecting to see a dead teen with multitudes of needles riddling his body. What he saw made him take a step back in shock. Naruto was still standing in the same position without a scratch on him surrounded by all of Aoi's senbon.

"Is that it?" Naruto questioned with a grin as he took a step forward. Aoi quickly brought his umbrella into a defensive position in front of himself while closing it. "My turn then." Naruto stated before almost disappearing from Aoi's line of sight in a blur of high speed movement. The next thing Aoi knew his umbrella had been sliced in half by a knife hand chop from Naruto. Aoi was quick to jump back to make some distance between himself and Naruto while discarding the broken umbrella.

"I don't know who you are or how you're doing this shit, boy. But you're a hundred years too early to challenge me when I have this!" Aoi yelled at Naruto as he pulled a dark grey sword handle out of a special pouch. With a small movement of his hand Aoi brought the legendary Raijin sword into the battle. The lightning blade sparked as Aoi pointed it at Naruto with a cocky smirk on his face. Naruto looked upon the weapon of the Nidaime with appreciation before grinning at Aoi.

"Bring it on! Let's see if you know how to use that sword." Naruto exclaimed as he charged at Aoi and went for a bladed roundhouse kick at Aoi's head. Aoi quickly brought the Raijin in between Naruto's kick and himself. When Naruto's leg made contact with the Raijin he got a large shock from the electricity of the blade, but he completed his kick and the force sent Aoi skidding back several feet. "Damn, that actually stings a little bit." Naruto muttered as he shook his leg to rid it of the sparking sensation.

"Now do you see, boy. You can't beat me when I'm wielding this sword, no one can!" Aoi exclaimed as he charged at Naruto with the Raijin held high. Naruto used Kyorioomata again and blurred towards Aoi with a bladed spear hand. Aoi was just fast enough to bring the Raijin down to meet Naruto incoming attack. With a shower of sparks and another strong shock for Naruto the two pushed each other back and reassessed their opponent. Naruto shook his hand to get rid of the stinging sensation from being struck with the Raijin again. 'Alright, that's really annoying. Time to get a bit more serious.' Naruto thought before calling on his chakra and cloaking himself in the dark blue energy. Naruto had realized after his clash with Kakashi's lightning technique that his chakra seemed to nullify Lightning Chakra so with that thought in mind he decided to put his chakra aura into use and nullify the Raijin's electrical shock against him.

Aoi took a step back as he saw the visible cloak of chakra surround Naruto. 'This is insane.' Aoi thought as he saw Naruto get back into a Taijutsu stance. 'This boy is producing more chakra then most Chuunin have. What the hell is he?' Aoi wondered in shock before he noticed Naruto blurring towards him again. With a swing the Raijin met Naruto's chakra cloaked fist with another shower of sparks. Naruto started laughing in exhilaration when he noticed that his plan had worked and the Raijin wasn't electrocuting him anymore. Aoi noticed this as well and jumped back several times to make more distance between himself and Naruto.

"How the hell are you not dead yet!" Aoi yelled in frustration as he got into a defensive stance with the Raijin. 'Shit! This kid must have Wind Natured type chakra. He'll make the Raijin almost completely useless if he keeps that chakra cloak up.' Aoi thought as Naruto put both of his hands by his sides.

"I'm not sure myself to tell you the truth." Naruto said with a laugh. "But my chakra seems to cancel out Lightning Chakra. So let's continue our fight!" Naruto yelled out with another laugh as he maximized the density of his Koutetsu in his arms and then coated them in iron from the pores of his skin. With his chakra cloak flaring and his arms ready Naruto used Kyorioomata again to blur towards Aoi who quickly brought the Raijin into position to block Naruto's attack. "Konbouteashi!" Naruto called out as he swung his iron coated fist into the Raijin. The force of the blow sent Aoi skidding back several feet while Naruto used another Kyorioomata to close the distance again. Naruto swung both of his iron coated arms down towards Aoi's arm that was holding the Raijin. The loud snapping sound of Aoi's arm breaking was a welcome noise to Naruto especially when it made Aoi drop the Raijin.

"Damn it!" Aoi yelled out in pain as he tried to use his other hand to pick up the Raijin again. Naruto wasn't about to let him get his weapon back so he brought his iron coated arm around and slammed it into Aoi's face sending the missing-nin back in a shower of blood as his nose broke from the strike. Aoi tried to get back up and attack but Naruto was already on him and with another swing of both of his iron covered hands he delivered a double hammer fist to Aoi's chest. Several snaps were heard as Aoi's ribcage collapsed under the force of the blow puncturing his lungs and heart and causing him to cough up a large about of blood before he closed his eyes in pain and then stopped moving entirely. After a minute of no signs of life from his enemy Naruto stopped using his chakra cloak and pulled the iron coating his arms back into his body. A quick check of Aoi's pulse confirmed the missing-nin was dead.

"Thanks for the fight, Aoi. I'll be taking the Raijin back to Konohagakure where it belongs." Naruto said as he went and picked up the deactivated Raijin and took out a sealing scroll from his pouch. Yachiru had said that he might need the scroll in the event he killed his target and she had been correct. After sealing the corpse of Aoi and the Raijin into the scroll Naruto quickly headed back to Zaimoku village to retrieve his pack. Once he had gotten to the Inn he was staying at Naruto decided to stay for the night and head back to Konoha first thing in the morning. After a shower and a light dinner Naruto went to sleep much more relaxed than he had been recently with his battle lust currently sated.

~Timeskip – One Day Later~

Naruto stood before Sarutobi in the morgue of Konohagakure's hospital. On the metal table in the center of the room was Rokushou Aoi's corpse being examined and prepared for autopsy and dissection by Konoha's Medical Research and Analysis Squad.

"You've done excellent work Naruto. You'll be paid for a B-Rank mission and Aoi's bounty of twenty million yen is also yours." Sarutobi stated as he looked proudly at his surrogate grandson.

"Thanks, Jiji. I'm just glad the Raijin is back in Konoha where it belongs. Though finally having a battle to the death was a nice experience, my battle lust has been sated completely for now." Naruto replied as he stood at attention. Sarutobi nodded as a medical examiner came up with the preliminary findings folder in his hands.

"Hokage-sama, we have completed the preliminary analysis." The examiner stated. When Sarutobi gave him a nod to continue both he and Naruto listened to the report. "Rokushou Aoi's cause of death was punctured heart and lungs from massive blunt force trauma. His right arm was broken in multiple places and his nose was also shattered. His ribcage is in pieces and his organs are crushed as well as punctured. We believe that we'll be able to glean quite a bit of Amegakure's medical techniques, including what treatments they use along with what medicines they have access to from the corpse. We'll have everything catalogued and in a report for you within forty eight hours, sir." The examiner finished as he closed the folder.

"Very good, see that it's done." Sarutobi responded with a nod as the medical examiner bowed before going back over to the table. Sarutobi lead Naruto out of the morgue and then the hospital before bidding him a good day and heading back to his office via Shunshin no jutsu.

Naruto quickly went home and told Yachiru about his mission after a congratulatory lunch made by Yachiru Naruto went out to find Ino and Tenten. He found both of them at their usual training grounds and was hugged by both the moment they saw him.

"You're back! How was the mission? Are you alright?" Ino asked in rapid succession after she let him out of her hug. Tenten let go just after Ino and looked just as curious as her blond friend.

"I'm fine Ino-chan, Tenten-chan." Naruto told them with a smile as he sat down against a tree with the two girls. "The mission went fine as well. Konoha now has one less missing-nin on the loose and the Nidaime Hokage's Raijin is back in Konohagakure where it belongs." Naruto said as Tenten and Ino looked at him for more information.

"I'd like to hear the whole story, Naruto-kun." Tenten said as she sat back and used her arms to support her body while looking at Naruto.

"Me too, Naruto-kun. Don't leave out a single detail." Ino told him as she moved her legs into a more comfortable position so she could listen to the story. Naruto sighed before smiling at his friends and began regaling them with the story of his first solo mission.

-End Chapter-

So? Do I still have the touch? Was it good? Bad? Tell me in your reviews! I plan to have a new chapter for Forest of Flames and Dokushu, The Poison Master within the next week or so. Make sure you read and review them too. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and plan to stick with me through the end. See you next chapter.


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